The Apple Pie Life
by rorypondtheboywholived
Summary: Hermione Granger tries juggling school, friends and her mischievous boyfriend, Fred Weasley. Muggle AU.
1. Autumn Days

_Oh look! Something new! Sadly, because Fred is about three years older than Hermione and he left school before his seventh year, I had to change some bits. Not that it really matters, this is an AU. Some parts may not be factually accurate but this isn't here for its factuality but rather, for its Fremione content. I hope you enjoy and R&R as always!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

All Hermione really wanted to do in this moment of time, was sit down and finally get round to studying. It was a cold autumn evening, which was closing in on the anniversary of the death of one of her closest friend's parents. She always tried to be a little more sensitive and caring around this time of year, to make sure that Harry was okay without bringing up the subject much. Harry had only been a year old when his parents, Lily and James Potter, were murdered in their home. Sadly, the murderer managed to escape, although, it wasn't all bad news, the police knew that it was a man named Tom Riddle. They just didn't know where he is and sadly, still don't.

Hermione sat curled up in her favourite arm chair in the Gryffindor house common room with her school books, ready to study for her GCSEs, even if they were a year away. The window was wide open and so were the curtains, the setting sun cast a slightly orange glow through the window and illuminating everything orange, from a distance, someone might have thought that the room was on fire. The autumn wind blew in, sending shivers down Hermione's spine, even though she was wearing her thick, woollen winter school jumper. She dropped her books carefully on to the varnished oak wook table in front of her, and crossed over to the window, firmly shutting it, the old window crying as it was brought to a close.  
The common room was fairly empty, as most of the students were still downstairs having dinner, however, Hermione decided to use this opportunity to have some quiet, and much needed study time. The bushy, brown haired girl sat back down, picking her books up and flicking through the pages. She settled on reading about radioactivity.  
She was so immersed in the text book, she didn't notice Harry and her other close friend, Ron, walk in with a few of their other friends, including Neville.

'Hey Hermione. We missed you at dinner.' said Ron, leaning against the chair and peering over at the book. He made a confused face at Harry, remembering that he too, had to learn about half lives, decay, ionisation and everything in between.  
Hermione didn't seem to hear Ron and carried on reading, then turning the page to read the next section.

'Earth to Hermione Granger...' Ron waved his hand in front of her book, which, he would soon realise to be a mistake as Hermione closed the book on his hand.

'Yes, Ronald?' she sighed, pushing a section of her wild hair behind her ear, only for it to fall out of place again.

Ron took his hand out of the book and inspected it carefully, then started shaking it as if he was trying to shake the pain away.

'Why weren't you at dinner?' the ginger boy said, sitting down in another chair next to Harry, who had already taken a seat upon their arrival.

Hermione neatly piled her books up and spoke in a matter of factly tone, without looking at her friends.  
'Because, I was trying to study. Something that you don't seem to do very often. GCSEs are important, you know?'

'Yeah, I know!' Snapped Ron back at her.  
Harry just rolled his eyes. He was used to Ron and Hermione arguing and he could tell that one was about to happen in full swing. Harry looked over at Neville who was poking at the leaves of a plant in the corner of the room.

Hermione and Ron's voices just seemed like white noise to Harry now, he'd learned how to block them out after their third year, when they argued over whether or not Hermione's cat ate Ron's pet rat.

'All you do is copy my work! You don't do the work yourself!'  
'Yes I do! I can't help it if I'm not as clever as you!'  
'Well perhaps if you listened in class and studied!'  
'Our GCSEs aren't even until next year! Why are you studying for them now?'

'Woah, ladies. Calm down.' said a different voice with a slightly chuckle behind it.

Ron and Hermione both looked up to see that Ron's twin brothers were standing over them. Ron rolled his eyes and sat backwards, slumping in his chair.

'Is our little brother giving you grief, Hermione?' Fred laughed softly, going behind the girl with all her pent up rage and kissing the top of her head.

'Would you like us to get rid of him for you?' George asked, grinning over at Ron. Hermione shook her head and smiled gently at the both of them. Ever since she had begun dating Fred, the twins had starting backing her up a lot more in arguments.

'Get lost.' Ron said bitterly at his siblings, folding his arms across his chest and throwing them dirty looks. Harry just sat watching, slightly enjoying what was happening.

'It's our common room too, Ron. We've got every right to be here.' Fred reminded him, shrugging his shoulders and sitting on the arm of Hermione's chair.

Harry got up and nudged Ron.

'Come on, you look like you're about to explode.'

Ron peeled himself from his chair and walked upstairs with Harry, muttering under his breath.

'What?' Harry asked, sitting on the edge of his bed in the boys dormitory.

'What does Hermione see in _him _anyway? What does Fred have that I haven't got?' Ron flopped backwards on to his bed and groaned.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

'Well, maybe it's because he doesn't whine and complain and start arguments with her? Just a thought.' Halfway through his sentence, Harry realised that he probably shouldn't have answered that question.

'Oh thanks.' Ron said sarcastically, sitting back up and looking at his best friend. 'What is it with my friends always liking my siblings? Hermione's with Fred, and you clearly fancy Ginny. Who do I get?'

'I think Lavender's always liked you.'

Ron held his head in his hands and groaned.  
'Don't remind me.'

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

When Hermione woke the next morning, she noticed that it was a rather warm day for an autumn morning. It couldn't have been no later than half past eight. Most of the other girls were still in bed and, why wouldn't they be? It was a Saturday after all. Hermione dared not open the curtains, she didn't want to rudely awake her dorm friends with the sun, which she could see pouring through the edges of the curtains. She went to change in to her clothes, just jeans and a jumper, before heading downstairs to the great hall to have breakfast.  
She inspected the food in front of her and settled on having toast, scrambled eggs and some orange juice. The hall was actually quite busy for a saturday morning, students were talking with their mouths open, laughing, yawning and complaining that it was too early to be up on the weekend. Hermione just kept her head down and ate quietly. That was, until, Harry and Ron joined her at the breakfast table.

'Morning, Hermione.' Ron said civilly.

'Good morning, Ronald.' Hermione replied in the same kind of manner. Clearly, neither of them had forgotten the dispute they had the night before.

Harry looked awkwardly between his friends, wanting to break the awkward silence that had filled the atmosphere. He coughed to indicate that he wanted to talk. Ron and Hermione looked over at him expectantly.

'I was thinking...I know Christmas is coming up and you'll want to spend it with your families but I think we should go camping.' Harry saw his friends odd expressions and clarified his idea a bit more. 'I don't mean for like, a week or something, just a night. Sometime just before Christmas or just after. It'd make a change, do something other than sitting in here and playing chess.'

'I think it's a nice idea, Harry. We'll have to plan it all out with our families and find somewhere to go though.' Hermione smiled finishing off a mouthful of toast.

'Yeah, alright.' Was Ron's response as he started digging in to a plate of sausages that were slightly burned.

Hermione's face lit up all of a sudden as Fred and George came bounding over to join them at the breakfast table. Fred bent down slightly to kiss her cheek and then sat next to her as George sat opposite them, next to Ron.

'Good morning, everyone!' Fred cried happily, beaming at them all and piling bacon on to his plate.

'You're cheerful this morning.' Hermione mused.

'Of course I am! I'm the better looking twin, our joke shop ideas are going great and, I've got a beautiful girlfriend.' He laughed and pulled Hermione closer to him by her waist. George and Ron made gagging noises in the background and Harry just laughed at them.

Fred picked up a piece of toast and threw it in their direction.

'Shut up. You're both just jealous because you don't have girlfriends.' Fred put both of his arms around Hermione's waist and rest his head on her shoulder. Hermione looked like she was going a light shade of red and her heart was pounding hard against her chest, like there were a hundred drummers inside her, beating away.

'And you certainly aren't the better looking twin.' George laughed, like he had heard a very funny and inappropriate joke.

Fred and Hermione walked along the lake side slowly, their hands intertwined. The sun shone down on the lake, making it glisten like it was made of millions of tiny diamonds, the small rays of light hitting everything in the surrounding area, making it look far more beautiful than it actually was.

'It's a nice day for the middle of autumn.' Hermione sighed peacefully, looking around and taking in all the things around her. The sound of the dead leaves crunching beneath their feet, the slightly unusual smell of the lake, the sound of the birds flying away to find somewhere warmer to stay and, the look of the blue sky with its soft clouds.

'It really is. It's a shame that summer is hardly ever like this.' Fred was concentrating more on Hermione than his background when he spoke. He watched the way that Hermione's uncontrollable hair blew back over her shoulders in the light autumn breeze. The way she walked with a slight spring in her step and, the way that every so often, she'd glance at him out of the corner of her eye, like she was checking if he was still there. Then, once seeing that he was, she'd grip his hand marginally tighter. It was like she was scared that he would vanish if she didn't keep a taut grip on him.

'Yeah, the weather can be a bit rubbish.' Hermione agreed.

'Would you like to sit on the lake bank?' Asked Fred, gesturing to the spot that they were about to walk by. She nodded and they sat together, legs crossed on the bank, their hands still together. Fred picked up a large nearby leaf and placed it in the water, they watched it travel down the lake and out of sight.. Hermione did the same, eventually, they were racing the leaves across the lake.

'Yes..yes..YES! I win!' Fred chanted, fist pumping the air.

'Yeah, alright. Don't get all high and mighty.' Hermione laughed, tapping Fred on the nose.

'Or are you just a sore loser?' he mocked, nudging her carefully with his elbow.

'I am not. Besides, we were leaf racing, hardly something important.'

'Even so, it's nice to see you out and enjoying yourself, instead of sitting in the common room studying and doing your homework. I like it when you take a break from all that. You deserve it.' admitted Fred quietly and smiling awkwardly over at his book worm of a girlfriend.

'Thank you.' She looked up to see him but the sun shone in her eyes, making her squint. Hermione rested her head against Fred's shoulder and kissed it.

They sat together like that in silence for a long while, just enjoying each other's company. Taking in the fact that they were there and they were together, and that was all that mattered in that point of time. It seemed like the clocks and stopped ticking and Earth had stopped spinning, just for them, just for this moment, just for this short minute.

The sound of running footsteps could be heard coming closer to where they were sat. The sound of a voice, belonging to a girl came shortly after it.

'Hey, Hermione, do you know where-' Ginny saw her brother and her friend turn to look at her. 'You know what, it doesn't matter. Sorry for bothering you.'

Hermione brushed her hair from her face and smiled.

'No, it's fine. What were you saying?'

'I just wanted to know if you knew where Harry was, that was all.' Ginny said, putting her hands in to her pockets.

'Have you tried the common room?' Was Hermione's answer and Ginny nodded.

'That was the first place I went.'

'Then I would suggest the football pitch. I'm not sure if he'll be there but it's a start.'

'Okay. Thanks Hermione. Bye!' Ginny replied cheerfully. 'Bye Fred!'

'Bye.' Fred said, watching his little sister bound off in the direction of the football pitch. He dipped his fingers in to the lake and then flicked the water in Hermione's face. He laughed as she looked at him, and obviously very unimpressed with him.

'Hey!' She cried, hitting him across the arm and wiping the water from her face.

'There was no need for violence.'

Hermione stood and held out her hand towards Fred, who took it and got to his feet.

'I'm taking you _away_ from the lake. I'd rather not get soaked.' She informed him, walking back towards the school.

She took him back to the common room where they sat together on the sofa for as long as Hermione would let them before she decided that she had to do her homework.

From that point on, Fred left so she could do it, and so that he could go and spend time with George and get up to their usual no good antics. Hermione had to admit though, she loved his sense of humour and his active imagination, however, she just wished that the pair of them would obey by the rules sometimes.

Her work was done quickly without many interruptions, which she was grateful for. Do you know how irritating it is to be interrupted when you are in the middle of working?  
Hermione packed away her paper and pens and sat in her dormitory where Ginny was sat.

'You didn't find him then?' Hermione assumed.

'No. It's okay though. It was nothing important...You and Fred looked like you were having fun.' Ginny said happily.

'We were actually. It was nice.' Hermione sat down on her bed to converse with her friend.

Ginny laughed and bought her knees up to her chest.

'You two are adorable.'

Hermione wasn't sure how to respond so she just said an unconvincing 'thank you' and left the common room, leaving Ginny alone again.

She'd never really thought about how she and Fred looked together to other people. She didn't think people really paid any attention to trivial things like that, apparently, she was wrong. And that did not happen often.

A first year student came running in to the common room covered in flour and had a terrified look on his face, this indicated to Hermione that this was one of the twins' practical jokes. Sure enough, he was followed in by the troublesome twosome.

'Sorry, that one wasn't for you.' Fred said to him, wiping some flour out of the boys hair.  
'Yeah, it was for our brother actually.' George continued.  
'You just happened to get in the way.' Finished Fred.

The boy went away to clean himself off and Hermione was left looking at the pair of them in a disapproving manner.

'You have got to stop doing this! You're not allowed to play horrible practical jokes on people, it's against the rules!' Hermione tried keeping her voice down at an acceptable level.

'Lighten up, Hermione. We're just trying to have some fun.' George sighed. 'Fred, control your girlfriend.'

Hermione seemed to get even angrier then, her fists were clenched tightly by her sides.

'We're very sorry.' Fred responded, extending his arms out to her.

Hermione licked her lips and paused for a moment, deciding whether or not she should leave or go to him. In the end, she just smiled helplessly and fell in to Fred's arms, just like she knew she would all along. He locked her in to a tight hug.

'I'm only hugging you because I like you too much to stay mad at you.' she said sternly.

Fred whispered in to her ear.  
'That's more than enough for me.'


	2. Trick or Treat?

_Sorry about the delay/the quality/the length of this chapter. My mum was taken to hospital for emergency surgery so my writing schedule was pushed back a bit._  
_Enjoy anyway and R&R like always!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

'You said that you had done your chemistry homework, Ron!' Hermione huffed, gripping her books tightly to her chest, like she was protecting them from Ron's grasp.

'Well, the title is done.' He scratched the back of his head and looked at Hermione hopefully. 'Please Hermione? I'd rather not spend Halloween in detention with Professor Snape. He's terrifying enough as it is.'

She sighed heavily and pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed them to Ron who took them without a second thought.

'Thank you, Hermione. You're a life saver.' Ron sped off to find himself a pen and some paper to copy Hermione's homework, like he usually does. Hermione decided that she really needed to stop letting him do that.

Today was Halloween, for most of the students, that meant dressing up, trick or treating, feasts and good fun all round. However, for Hermione and Ron it was a time to try make Harry feel better about his parents murder, so naturally, Harry never really had much fun on Halloween. He tried of course, he always put up a good front so the others could enjoy themselves.

The school day seemed to drag on forever, it didn't help that it was raining and cold as well. That just made the time seem like it was going on even slower. The time dragged on so much that even Hermione thought it to be ridiculous.

There was one thing that made her feel better about the day. During History, she opened her text book only to find that a slip of paper had fallen out of it and on to the desk.

'That's odd.' Hermione thought. She looked around the class for anyone she thought might have put it there. She would have known if it had been either Harry or Ron, so it couldn't have been them. Hermione picked up the paper between her long fingers and unfolded it.

_'Dearest Hermione,_

_This is just a note to say that I hope you have a good day and that I hope Ron doesn't drive you up the wall too much._

_Yours always, F. x'_

Hermione's grin seemed to spread from ear to ear. She folded the note up quietly and tucked back inside her text book. Suddenly, her day seemed much brighter, despite the grey clouds outside and rain pounding hard against the ancient windows.

The rest of the day didn't seem so bad after that. Even when the bully of their year, Draco Malfoy, who belonged to Slytherin house, started bad mouthing her and her parents for not being a higher class family. Sadly, this sort of taunting happened often, but Hermione and her friends were kind of used to it now. It had been happening since their first year.

Ron finally gave Hermione back her chemistry homework just before Professor Snape walked in, his face expressionless like it usually was.

'Silence!' He bellowed, but the class was already silent before he walked in. He started writing on the chalk board, the class daring not to breathe too loudly. Out of fear that if they did, they'd have to face the wrath of Professor Snape after school everyday for the next three months.

'Follow the instructions on the board...carefully. Go!'  
The class got out of their seats to find the equipment to complete the experiment. Hermione's had gone perfectly, like it always did. She felt quite proud of herself. Ron's was smoking profusely, and Harry's had gone a bright shade of orange.

'Mister Potter.' Professor Snape said, over his shoulder.

'Yes, Professor?' Harry replied, knowing what was about to happen.

'Tell me why...your solution is..orange.' Snape droned, dragging out his sentence and putting emphasis on the word 'orange.'

'I don't know.'

'It's because you're gormless, and as a result, misread instruction three. Do you wish to fail this class? Dispose of it, Potter. The rest of you, carry on. At the end of the lesson, I want your essays on my desk. Is that clear?'

Draco sniggered from the across the class with his friends at Harry.

xx

'That was completely unfair on you, Harry! Ron's solution was just as bad as yours and Professor Snape said nothing to him.' Hermione complained angrily, pacing down the corridor.

Ron decided not to retaliate and start another argument.

'Well, Snape's had it in for Harry for years.' Ron decided to say finally.

Harry just sighed and clasped his hand around his school bag tightly.

'It doesn't matter. ' he sighed. 'Anyway, I'm going to get ready for the Halloween feast,or whatever it is they've decided to call it this year. See you both later?'

Hermione and Ron nodded, bidding their short farewell to Harry and watching him move towards the Common room and out of sight.

'I can't believe Snape would say something like that to Harry, on today of all days! Doesn't he think that Harry is upset enough as it is?' Hermione carried on, looking over at Ron, her cheeks almost flushed bright red from anger.

'Apparently not.' Ron shrugged.

xx

The Common room was dark and Hermione seemed to be alone. She dismissed it at first, thinking that everyone was down at the feast already. Hermione had taken a quick detour to the library, only, she ended up being there for a lot longer than she had planned.

She crossed over to the light switch and flicked it. Nothing happened.

'The bulb must have died.' She muttered to herself.

_CRASH_

Hermione turned round quickly, her hair whipping against her neck. She could not see any one or any thing in the dark.

'Crookshanks?' She called, lowering herself to see if her large fluffy cat was around. 'Crookshanks!'

There was an eerie silence once more.

That was until she heard a strange noise behind one of the common room chairs. She crept quietly towards it, a lump beginning to form in the back of her throat.

As she got to it, she took a deep breath and looked behind it where the noise had supposedly come from, only to find nothing.

Something grabbed her around the waist and pulled her backwards. She let out a loud, panicky scream. The lights came flickering on, she looked to see that Fred and George stood behind her, both dressed as vampires and trying not to laugh.

'That was not funny!' She cried, trying to get out of Fred's grasp.

George burst in to laughter which made Fred follow in suit. He let go, knowing he was going to be in a lot of trouble with her, again.

'Don't be upset, Hermione. It's Halloween, we were only having a laugh.' Fred said through false fangs.

'Do I look like I'm laughing?' She snapped, smoothing out her clothes.

'No, you don't.' George replied.

Fred elbowed his brother in the ribs.

'I think that was supposed to be a rhetorical question, actually.'

'You scared me! I was fine up until you grabbed me! And how on Earth did you manage to do the lights?' Hermione asked, not being able to push away her curiosity.

'Well, we unscrewed the light bulb before you came in and then when George broke that ugly vase on the fireplace, it provided me with enough cover to go and put the bulb back, especially as you started looking for Crookshanks.'

Hermione paused for a moment and crossed her arms.

'As much as I find you two to be a bad influence on people, I admire your teamwork, and the way you use your brains to do things like this. However, I would prefer it if you used your brains to pass your exams and not scare other students.'

The twins laughed. They knew they were smart enough to pass all of their exams but having a good time seemed more important to them.

'Are you dressing up for the feast?' Fred asked.

'Harry and Ron have gone as zombies.' George continued.

Hermione shook her head and unfolded her arms again. She started picking at the fluff on her school jumper.

'No, I don't really see the point.'

'But it's Halloween!' George cried.

'You're supposed to dress up!' Fred followed on in the same tone as his brother.

Hermione disagreed and eventually, the boys gave up on trying to make her succumb to the tradition.

'Suit yourself.' They said in unison, shrugging and starting to head out of the common room, where they would sit in the Great Hall to join their friends at the yearly Halloween feast.

She quickly ran up and gently grabbed Fred's arm.

'Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?' Hermione asked, giving George the 'go away, please' eyes.

George smiled and left.

'You're not breaking up with me, are you?' He laughed nervously, not sure if he was joking about it at all.

Hermione raised her eyebrow.

'No.' She let her face relax and beamed happily at him. 'I just wanted to thank you for the note you left for me. It made my day a lot better.' Hermione reached up and gently kissed Fred on his cheek, which was surprisingly smooth.

Fred put his forehead against Hermione's. Their hands found each other, and locked together once again. Suddenly, everything around them had disappeared, there was absolute silence and they had become one person. They could feel each others hot breath on their skin, and it was comforting feeling to have. It was like no harm could come to either of them if they were together, they were what kept each other safe and sound. No force would ever be strong enough to tear their hands, or hearts apart.

'We should go to the feast.' Hermione whispered.

'Mhm.' Fred nodded, not really wanting to go any where.

'But we can go right after you've cleaned up the broken vase.' Hermione instructed, dropping Fred's hand and pointing towards the fireplace. 'Nice cape, by the way.'

xx

The Great Hall smelled strongly of pumpkin pies and various other sweets and treats. Fred and Hermione sat by their friends.

George turned to Ron who was shoving some hard boiled sweets in to his mouth.

'Hey, Ron. Pick and a hand and depending what hand you pick, you'll either get a trick...'

'Or a treat.' Fred piped in, propping his elbows up on the table and watching his brothers carefully.

Ron took a while to choose but eventually ended up choosing George's right hand.

'Are you sure?' George teased.

'Yeah.' His brother said, trying to inspect each hand, hoping to have any sort of clue as to what was in his hands.

'Trick!' The twins shouted, throwing a large fake spider at Ron. He screamed and fell on the floor in his fright.

Fred, George and surrounding company all laughed. Ron took a deep breath and climbed back in to his seat.

'Bloody hell!' He breathed heavily. Fred and George high fived each other from across the table.

'Are you okay?' Hermione asked, turning her back on Fred.

Ron nodded.

'Yeah, yeah...fine.'

Harry hadn't spoken much all day and everyone knew better than to bother him about it. Some things are better left unsaid.

'I sent a letter to my parents this morning, about the camping trip.' Hermione said calmly, trying to decide what to eat.

Ron's eyes widened and nodded, he had obviously forgotten all about it.

'Oh yeah!' He spat with a mouthful of pie. 'I'll do that tomorrow.'

Harry smiled at the pair of them, one of the only proper smiles he had given to the world today.

'Thanks, guys.'

'What camping trip?' Fred and George asked.

It was Ginny's turn to pipe in then. She hadn't really gotten dressed up either, she had just put a fake arrow through her head.

'Harry wants to go camping with Hermione and Ron. That's all. It sounds like a nice idea.' She smiled dreamily over at the dark haired orphan boy who returned it in the same way.

'How long for?' George wondered.

Harry swallowed his mouthful of food and turned to them, breaking eye contact with Ginny.

'Oh, not long. Just a night.' He answered.

Fred looked at Hermione with large eyes.

'You will write to me, won't you?' He pouted and started playing with Hermione's hair. Twisting it around between his fingers and then brushing it out again.

Hermione made a tutting sound at her significant other.

'It'll only be a night and, besides, we don't even know if we can go yet.' She reached under the table and grabbed Fred's hand, that feeling of security coming back to the both of them.

'Yeah.' He sighed. 'I know.' Fred stroked the back of Hermione's hand with his thumb.

xx

'Trick or treat?'

'Seeing as I've already had a trick today, I think I'll go treat.'

'Are you sure?'

'Most certainly.'

'Close your eyes.'

Hermione obliged and shut her eyes tightly. She could feel something cold around her neck and her heart was beating like crazy once again.

'Okay, open them.' Fred whispered in to her ear.

Her eyes flickered open and she looked down to find a small silver necklace placed around her neck with an 'F' falling on her chest. The 'F' had small diamonds in it, probably only glass but beautiful all the same.

'It's gorgeous...' Hermione said. She was completely shocked by the gesture and was almost speechless.

'I was going to give it you for Christmas, but I wanted to give it to you now.'

'You really shouldn't have.' She laughed, holding the 'F' in her hand.

Fred nodded.

'I wanted to.'

Hermione let go of it and hugged Fred tightly.

'Thank you. So much.'

They laid together on one of the common room sofas, it was a tight fit but they managed it. The fire was crackling and the rain was pouring against the window.

It was getting late and most of the students were already in bed. The sounds of fire and rain relaxed them and made them feel warm.

These moments, when they were alone and it was silent, was some of the best times they had together. Especially because they were often rare moments.

Hermione had fallen asleep soon after but Fred was still wide awake. He gently got up off of the sofa and picked Hermione up. He carried her up the stairs and in to the girls dormitory where he lai d her on her bed and put the covers over her.

He left silently for his own dorm where George was sat up, waiting for him.

'How's Sleeping Beauty?' He whispered.

'Asleep.' Fred joked.

'You've been spending a lot of time with her recently.' George pointed out, settling down in to his bed.

Fred grinned and put on his pyjamas.

'You're not jealous are you?' He laughed and climbed in to his own bed.

George yawned.

'Of course not. I just wanted to know, do you love her?'

Fred went to answer his brother's question, but decided to pretend to have already fallen asleep instead.


	3. Baby, you're a firework

_Hi! Oh, Katy Perry lyrics for the title. You can almost feel the originality oozing out of me! Well, enjoy this chapter and please do review afterwards! I love hearing all of your comments/thoughts!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

November was shaping up to be a boring month, although, perhaps tonight, bonfire night, wouldn't be too bad. There was going to be a short fireworks presentation that the school had organised, and you could also see the fireworks from other people's displays further away from the castle. That was one of the advantages of attending a school that was situated in Scottish highland, you could see so far out. It was such a beautiful view, it left people who had never seen it before speechless. Not to mention like they were stood on top of the world.

It was progressively getting colder as winter approached and everyone was being effected. No one had the energy to work or concentrate, no one wanted to get out of bed in the morning, no one wanted to do anything other than sit by the fire in their common rooms. Sadly, they couldn't. They still had to get up and work in lessons. One of the only things that got them through the day, was knowing that once they were done, they could go back to their warm beds.

'If it's this cold now, I'd hate to think of what it'll be like in December and January.' Ron shivered, watching his icy breath dance and swirl in front of him in the air.

Harry nodded and crossed his arms together tightly, hoping that it would give him some warmth over his school jumper.

'I don't even want to think about it.' Harry breathed heavily.

Hermione laughed quietly, her Gryffindor house scarf wrapped around her neck.

'Cheer up, it's bonfire night.' She beamed, almost skipping down the corridor.

Ron furrowed his brow and sniffed, his nose was starting to run in the cold stratosphere.

'I don't see how that's a reason to cheer up.' He mumbled.

'Well, you're just cynical, Ron.'

They walked quickly up to the Gryffindor common room to escape the cold and drafty corridors that winded and connected parts of the ageing school together. Inside the common room, many of the students were gathered around the fire and sat close together on the sofas and chairs.

All of the windows were tightly locked with frost growing on the outside. Some groups of students were playing chess, others were playing cards, some were just complaining about how much they hated the cold.

Hermione started walking upstairs to the girl's dormitory when Ron had inquired why she was going upstairs when everyone was clearly downstairs.

'We've got History homework for Professor Binns.'

There was a collective groan from Harry and Ron who began to slowly follow Hermione up the the stairs. They parted at the top to their own dorms.

'I really can't be bothered to do this.' Ron sighed, opening up his text book and staring at the words on the dirty page.

'Me neither.' Harry agreed. His eyes moved around the room to find an excuse to put off doing his homework. Other than unmade beds, he found nothing.

'Do you think we could just copy Hermione's?' Ron suggested.

Harry thought about it for a minute before coming to the conclusion of 'no.' After all, they did copy off her a lot, Ron more-so than himself, and she and Ron weren't exactly the best of friends recently. Ron held his head in his hands out of despair but eventually managed to write something and decided that he could do the rest later. Harry managed to write a page and a bit and said that he had finished it all.

They returned to the common room and found a fairly empty corner of the room to sit in.

'Hi Harry.' A small voice said. Harry looked up to see Ginny coming over to sit by he and Ron. Harry could see Ron rolling his eyes out of the corner of his own.

'Hey, Ginny.' He said back, waving at her slightly.

She pushed her hair back behind her ear and smiled at him awkwardly.

'I was wondering if you were going to see the firework display later?' She asked, edging slightly closer to him, pretending she was just trying to make herself more comfortable.

'Well, it's a bit cold...'He trailed off, seeing disappointment spread across her face. She quickly smiled again to try and cover up her disappointment.

'I suppose it is.' She said. 'Any way, I just thought that maybe...you wanted to come and see it with me. You know, as friends.' Ginny rambled quickly.

Harry grinned widely.

'Yeah, okay then. Sure!'

Ginny went a pale shade of red and stood up.

'Okay, I'll see you later then.' She waved goodbye and skipped up off the stairs to her dormitory.

She burst the door open, which made Hermione jump as she packed away her homework. Hermione stared at her friend and her overly excited features and gave her a smile that sort of said, 'come and tell me everything!'

'Harry and I are going to see the fireworks display together later.' Ginny beamed brightly. It was the sort of smile that could have given light to a dark room.

Hermione shot a meaningful look at her.

'That sounds nice. Have fun, won't you?'

Ginny laughed and unusually girly sort of laugh.

'Of course we will...You and Fred should come with us. Like a double date. Except Harry and I are just going as friends. You know what I mean, though.' Suggested Ginny, spotting a flash of silver from Hermione's necklace.

'Maybe. We'll see.'

xx

'I knew you would come.' Ginny whispered to Hermione as they made their way to a spot to watch the fireworks. Harry and Fred trailed behind them.

'Oh, shut up.' Hermione giggled, pushing Ginny lightly away from her.

They eventually found a spot to sit and Ginny had the bright idea of bringing blankets from the beds with her. They sat and waited for the fireworks to begin. Other students often sat by them, waiting for them as well.

'Is Ron not coming?' Harry asked them.

'No. He didn't want to be surrounded by couples apparently.' Fred answered, cuddling up to Hermione under one of the blankets.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks and then looked at Fred.

'We're not a couple.' They said together, then going red and looking away from each other. Fred and Hermione laughed.

'Of course you're not.' Hermione said.

'Shush.' Ginny placed her finger to her lips. 'I think they're about to start.'

And Ginny was right. There was a spectacular display of colours and sounds. Whizzes and bangs, pops and fizzes. Green, blue, red and white. The crowd 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing.' They probably didn't realise it, but Harry and Ginny got closer together as the fireworks went on, maybe it was because of the cold, maybe there was another underlying reason.

The show lasted all in all for about fifteen minutes. Harry and Ginny left together nearly straight after it had finished, their hands brushing too close together and yet, never daring to hold them.

'We should probably go too.' Hermione yawned, standing up and taking the blanket with her. Fred whined and pulled her back down by the hand. She landed next to him with a thud.

'No, let's stay for a little longer.' He said quietly. 'After all, there are still some displays going off in the distance.'

Hermione sighed and rolled on to her back.

'Fine. Not too long though, I would like to go to bed eventually.'

Fred brushed her hair with his fingers.

'Yes, dear.' His voice was still quiet, like there was a small animal around that he didn't want to frighten away.

He pulled the blanket over them and laid backwards next to Hermione. They quietly watched the fireworks that were still going off in the far distance, loosely holding hands. Everyone else had already gone back inside, the cold proving too much for them. Fred and Hermione could barely feel the cold as they cuddled up together with a blanket, underneath the star studded and firework laden sky.

'You're a bit like a firework.' Hermione said eventually.

Fred looked at her quizzically.

'How so?' He propped himself up on his elbow.

Hermione turned on her side, mirroring Fred's position so they could see each other properly.

'Well, you're spontaneous, colourful, entertaining, potentially dangerous...' Hermione and Fred both laughed. 'But not to mention spectacularly beautiful.'

Fred smiled lightly and fell back towards the ground. Hermione stood up, taking the blanket with her.

'No. We've got to go back.' She told him.

He got up reluctantly and put his arm around Hermione's waist.

'You're a bit like the sun and the moon.' Fred lilted, looking up in to the sky.

'Oh?'

'You're bright girl who brings light to my days and nights.'

xx

'Seriously, I think you are jealous, Georgie.' Fred mocked as he sat in the common room with his brother.

George kicked Fred softly.

'I'm really not. Maybe it is good that you're spending so much with someone else. People might have started to think that we were Siamese twins or something.'

'I think everyone can see that we're quite clearly, not.' Fred whistled.

George sighed. He was starting to get impatient with Fred. He would constantly avoid any questions about his and Hermione's relationship.

'Why _do_ you like her so much? We haven't spoken about it before and I don't know, I would just like to know. We're twins, we usually share everything.'

It was Fred's turn to sigh then. It was true. They did share everything and he had distanced himself from George recently. Fred did miss spending all of his time with George and he'd like to go back to it. Maybe spending time apart was good though? Maybe it was a good thing that Hermione might be going away with Ron and Harry, even if it was just one day and night? Maybe Fred was just over thinking because he was tired? Maybe the voice in his head needed to shut up and go to sleep?

'I like her because I never feel uncomfortable with her. I get to be myself and the person I want to be most, you know? Our different personalities balance out almost perfectly, and any indiscretions we do have are quickly resolved. We work on our relationship, the effort you put in, is what you get out of it in the end. She makes me happy and everything about her just seems...right.'

George started making gagging noises again, like he had done with Ron a while back. Fred kicked him again, causing him to wobble and nearly fall off of the sofa. George regained his balance and laughed quietly, as to not disturb anyone who was sleeping.

'Does this mean I get to be best man at your wedding?'

'Even if Hermione and I don't get married, you're still going to be the best man at my wedding. At least, if I'm best man at yours. If not, I'll probably get Ron to do it.

Fred flexed his fingers together and put his arms around the back of his hed.

'It's a bit early to be thinking about marriage isn't it? I want a stable business owning and running a joke shop first, with my twin brother of course.'

xx

'Surrounded by couples? Is _that _what he told you?' Ron scoffed as he, Ron and Hermione walked down the corridor to their first lesson of the next day.

Hermione's hair billowed behind her, her bag slung across her shoulders and her first lesson books clamped tightly to her chest in her arms.

'Yes it is.' She retored.

'Well, he lied.' Ron insisted. 'I just didn't want to sit outside and watch poxy fireworks that I could see from from a window.'

'I only told you what he told me.' Hermione reminded him.

'Us.' Harry said. 'What he told us. I was there too, remember?' He pushed his glasses up his nose, magnifying his green eyes. The ones that had belonged to his mother, as he was constantly reminded. That was one of the first things people usually said to him if they had known Lily. Often accompanied by, 'You look just like your father.'

'Yeah, you were on a double date with my little sister last night, weren't you?' Ron sounded quite bitter this morning.

Harry's eyebrows wrinkled together, giving him lines on his forehead.  
'It wasn't a date! You heard Ginny, she said that we should go as friends and we did.'

Ron seemed to ignore Harry's protestation and starting digging himself a large metaphorical pit, that he was probably going to end up being pushed in to, as he started attacking Hermione and her relationship with Fred.

'And you've always got your hands all over Fred and vice versa! We don't want to see that everywhere and you're always hanging out with him and it's like you can't keep yourselves you your selve-'

Hermione had become furious very quickly.

'Don't you dare start lecturing me about my relationship, Ronald Weasley! Did you ever stop and think for just for one minute, that he does actually make me happy? And, hopefully, that I make him happy? I'm also sure that Harry feels the same about Ginny. Just because it's your brother or sister that's involved, that doesn't mean that you can start shouting your negative opinions about. Keep them to yourself, you have no idea what it's like for us!'

She walked faster down the corridor, almost braking out in to a run, trying to get as far away as Ron as possible. All he ever had was negativity about her relationship with Fred, and she had no idea why. All she wanted was for him to give them some support and wish them well, he was one of her best friends, didn't he owe her at least that much?

Hermione was walking with such speed, she didn't even notice that she had passed Fred and George in the corridor until Fred called her name.

She walked backwards with a huge smile on her face. If Ron was angry because she was 'all over' Fred, she was going to give him the reason to be angry.

'George can you hold my books for a minute, please? Thanks.'

She threw her arms around Fred's neck and then moved a hand across his shoulder and down his chest.

'There's my beautiful firework!' She sang out. Hermione wiggled her finger to signal that she wanted him to bend a bit closer. He did and she whispered, 'I'll explain all of this later.'

Fred straightened himself out and planted a small kiss on her cheek. George looked bored but still had a smile on his face any way.

'I can't stop long.' Hermione told him, moving her arms down and around Fred's waist. She could see Ron looking at them as he and Harry walked past. Once they were a bit further away, Hermione smiled apologetically, let go of Fred and took back her books. 'I was just trying to make Ron mad. I'll explain more later, I promise.'

xx

'So Ron accused us of always being all over each other and was just generally disagreeing with our relationship?' Fred concluded that evening in the common room when Hermione had told him what happened.

Hermione nodded, she was still angry about the whole ordeal that took place that morning.

'That's right.'

A mischievous smile played on his lips and there was an unnerving glint in his eyes. He rubbed his hands together like he had just eaten something delicious and then laughed. Hermione seemed confused. She already could tell that he was plotting, but what that was exactly, she had no idea.

'I think.' He began. 'We could have some fun with this.'


	4. Kiss and tell

_I have no excuse for the lateness of this chapter except sheer laziness. I do apologise. Sadly, my laptop has broken so the next chapter might be a while but, it might not. I don't know yet. Please R&R and enjoy! I hope I'm not away for too long!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

Fred and Hermione had never kissed in public. They don't know why, it just didn't happen for them. Harry and Ginny had, Ron and Lavender had; much to Ron's dismay. Why then they didn't do it was a complete mystery. Perhaps Hermione was just too shy? Maybe it would just be too awkward? It could be because Fred was just trying to be respectful to his girlfriend and ended up doing it too much. It could be a number of different reasons. They didn't really question it because something that trivial wasn't important to them.

The weather had gotten slightly warmer over night which everyone was happy about. If it had gotten any colder, people would have started to get frost bite.

'Hey Ron, there's football practice later. You up for it? It might keep us vaguely warm.' Harry yawned in to his porridge.

Ron made a noise that sounded vaguely like 'Yeah, alright.'

Hermione folded up the morning paper and sighed.

'What a load of rubbish, as always of course. Ron, have you got a reply from your parents about the camping trip?'

He perked up a bit then and swallowed his mouthful of bacon and egg.

'The letter's on the table somewhere.'

Ron started looking underneath the bits of paper that were on the table from, parcels and unfinished homework until he pulled out a white envelope. He opened it and took out the sheet of paper within.

'Let's have a look then?' Asked Hermione crowding around Ron and the letter, Harry did so too.

_Dear Ron,_

_You can go as long as you tell me where you're going and as long as you're back by Christmas eve. If they would like, Harry and Hermione can stay for Christmas, they're always welcome. Make sure Fred and George are behaving themselves and tell Ginny your father I said hello._

_Lots of love,_

_Mum._

'It's all settled then.' Harry sat back and started digging back in to his breakfast.

Hermione smiled widely which showed off the front row of her teeth.

'I'm actually quite excited.' She exclaimed pulling a plate of breakfast in front of her.

Harry nodded, his slightly too long dark hair flopped in front of his glasses.

'Me too. It'll be a laugh.'

Ron stopped eating a sausage long enough to join in on the conversation.  
'Should be alright.'

'You sound very excited, Ron.' Hermione said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and flicking through the newspaper once more desperate for something more to read.

'Well I am trying to eat breakfast!' Ron spat with a mouthful of food.

She wrinkled her nose up in disgust as he spoke with his mouth full.

'Yes and you're clearly a very charming man.'

'Careful with your words Hermione.' George said from behind her. She turned and grinned at him who gladly returned the smile with a gentle laugh.

'I wouldn't dream of hurting your brother.' Hermione pointed out.

Ron grumbled in to his breakfast plate.

'Which one? I'm his brother and you've got no problem yelling at me.' Ron said a little too loudly under his breath.

Hermione ignored Ron but really wanted to kick him under the table, but, that would have just proved Ron's point further.

'Oh good.' George replied slyly. 'He'll be so pleased.'

'I am actually.' Fred calmly said, moving in to view from behind George.

Ron looked at them with a confused manner.

'Where the bloody hell did you come from?'

'Around.' Fred shrugged and the twins sat down at the table.

Hermione shuffled closer to Fred who put his arms around her. He moved a little closer to her face until their noses touched. They giggled to themselves and gave each other an Eskimo kiss which made Ron pull a face, pick up his letter and leave.

Fred and Hermione laughed after he had gone and sat back normally.

'Well, he left quicker than I had expected.' Fred sighed, picking up a slightly over cooked sausage off of Ron's abandoned plate and eating it.

Hermione sighed and folded up the newspaper again.

'Never mind. It's not like we won't have other chances.'

George laughed and turned to his brother, nudging him for his attention.

'Did you see the look on his face though?'

All three of them burst in to laughter although Hermione was only giving a half hearted laugh, like she wasn't entirely sure that she should be laughing, or like she didn't want to do so at all.

Harry looked at them all with a raised eyebrow and a lot of questions burning in his brain.

'You three are up to something, aren't you?' He said, his gaze changing between them quickly.

'We might be.' The twins said together.

Harry's eyes lingered on Hermione who played with the cuffs of her school jumper, occasionally looking up and catching a flash of Harry's green eyes on her.

Finally, she gave in.

'I just wanted to give Ron a reason to be annoyed at me for having my hands all over Fred, as Ron so graciously put. Fred and I just decided to be a bit more...' Hermione paused trying to think of the appropriate word. 'coupley around each other. And George is in on it because, well, he's George.'

George grinned.

'Never could resist a prank, plus, Fred's my brother so of course I'm going to help out and Hermione's as good as a sister.'

xx

'How were lessons today?' Fred asked as Hermione perched on his lap and put her arms around his shoulders.

'Fine. What about yours?' Hermione asked.

Fred looked slightly taken back.

'What's up? Usually you won't stop talking to me about how your lessons went.'

Hermione smiled and pushed her hair behind her ears.

'Exactly. I thought you could use a break from that.'

'I love it when you won't shut up about your day. You sound so passionate and it's adorable.'

Hermione's cheeks flushed a light pink and she buried her embarrassed face in Fred's chest. Ron looked over wearing a face full of abhorrence, she could see him out of the corner of her eye and it made her smile more in to his brother's chest. Ron looked away and carried on chatting with Harry. From the looks that Ron was giving, Harry hadn't said a word to him about the 'plan' that the three of them were involved in.

Fred ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily.

'As much as I would love to sit here like this forever, we've got football practice.'

'Yes we do.' George agreed. He pushed Hermione off of Fred and sat in between them. 'Go on Fred, get changed and take Ron and Harry with you.'

That's exactly what Fred did.

'Are you going to come and watch us practice?' George asked Hermione, putting his feet up on the table in front of the common room sofa.

'I don't see why not.'

xx

Hermione sat on the front row as close to the pitch as she could get with Ginny. Both of them wrapped up in scarves and hats. They watched the team play in the cold, both of them wishing that the practice would just finish so that they could back inside where it was warmer.

'Ron doesn't seem to be doing very well today, does he?' Ginny said, watching Ron try and stop the balls flying past him and in to the goal.

'Hmm? Oh, right, yeah. I wasn't really looking at Ron.'

Ginny grinned knowingly and put her hands inside her pockets. She watched Harry run around the pitch as Hermione watched Fred.

'We might have a chance of beating Slytherin in the next match if Ron performs a bit better during the actual game.' Ginny mentioned, trying to get a small conversation going.

'Perhaps he's just nervous now.'

'Well, he's going to be a lot more nervous when eleven determined and bloodthirsty Slytherin's are staring down at him.'

'I somehow doubt they'll be bloodthi-'

A cheer came from the rest of the crowd and the team as Ron managed to save the ball going in to the back of the net from the kick of Angelina Johnson.

Hermione and Ginny both cheered a little late, just to try and cover up the fact that they didn't actually see it.

'Yay, Ron!' Ginny called out, jumping up and down. Hermione laughed and tried to get Ginny to stand still before she hurt someone.

'Well done, Ron!' Hermione shouted any way, trying to support her incredibly irritating friend.

Cheering on Ron during practice was supposed to make her feel better about dangling her relationship with Fred in front of him, but it didn't really. Ron was out of order to snap at her like that though and she did want to take action against it. It was also quite fun to be closer to both Fred and George through it. Both of them were more than willing to help her in any situation, of course she was grateful for that, but sometimes she just didn't need any help.

Football practice seemed to go on forever, it definitely felt like a lot longer because it was so cold. Hermione and Ginny watched the ball as it was passed from player to player and as the sky got darker, the crowd got smaller

Eventually, the team retired to the changing rooms to put on something a lot warmer. Ginny dragged Hermione down on to the pitch whilst they waited for Harry, Ron and Fred. She kicked around one of the balls as she waited, sometimes kicking it towards Hermione who gently kicked it back.

'Watch this.' Ginny moved her feet in odd ways that Hermione could never do before kicking the ball incredibly far across the pitch and watched it hit the back of the net in the goal.

'Nice footwork, Ginny.' Angelina said from behind, with Harry by her. 'We could use someone like you on the team.'

'Wow, Ginny. You're really good.' Harry said clearly gob-smacked. Ginny's cheeks has gone red, from the cold or from the compliment from Harry, it wasn't obvious.

'Consider coming to the next try-outs, won't you?' Angelina grinned hopefully.

Ginny looked at Harry's eager face and couldn't help but smile as well.

'I'll definitely think about it.' Was Ginny's reply, which was enough for Angelina as she bounded off to pick up the football from the goal and tidy up the cones and spare balls that were used during the practice.

'I'm sure you'll make the team if you try-out.' Harry said shivering slightly.

Ginny nodded and started pulling Harry out back towards the school.

'I'm sure I will. Come on, let's go inside. You look like you're about to freeze to death. See you in a minute Hermione.' Ginny and Harry left chatting away to each other happily before disappearing out of sight, leaving Hermione alone in the dark. The lights on the pitch weren't exactly very bright.

Fred and George came running out of the changing rooms and Fred ran straight at Hermione to hug her tightly.

The three of them sat down by the benches waiting for Ron to emerge.

'He's bragging about the save he made against Angelina to Alicia and anyone else who'll listen.' George sighed. 'He's overly happy right now...' He trailed off, grinning as an idea began to grow inside his head. Apparently Fred could see this idea manifesting as well as he mirrored his twins smile.

'Hermione, do you fancy being a little bit mean in a minute? Bring Ron down from his high horse before he starts bragging about it to you as well?' Fred asked.

'Well, I don't really want him to go on about it to me. I know what happened.'

Fred and George winked at each other and stood up; Hermione stood too, unsure what was happening.

They walked back on to the pitch and stood there.

'Now, when Ron starts to come out, do what I say. Okay?'

Hermione panicked and nodded.

'Don't worry, Hermione. I wouldn't let him do anything that I wouldn't do.' George said, patting Hermione on the back.

'That's a comforting thought.' She said sarcastically.

The trio's eyes moved over to the door where Ron was about to emerge. He was still going on about the save.

'Hey, Hermione! Did you see-' Ron shouted across to her, walking towards them and taking large strides as he moved across the pitch

'Hermione.' Fred whispered, 'Put your hands on my waist.' So she did. Ron was still moving towards them.

'I mean, I thought I was going to miss it, it was Angelina's kick!' He went on.

Fred looked Hermione in the eyes and whispered to her.

'Kiss me.'

Hermione looked up at him full of confusion.

'Pardon?' She whispered back at him.

'I said, kiss me.'

Hermione had trouble trying to speak.

'I'm sorry, what?'

Fred rolled his eyes and gently grabbed Hermione's face, Ron was now starting to shut up. Fred leaned in towards her pressing his cold lips against hers gently. Hermione's features softened slightly, like his simple touch had started to defrost her entire being. The world seemed like it had stopped spinning and Hermione moved her hands so that she able to wrap her arms around Fred's waist. She parted her lips slightly and kissed him back now that the initial shock had worn off. Fred stroked Hermione's cheek with his thumb as George stood by awkwardly.

They broke apart but kept their heads pressed together until George tapped Fred's shoulder. Ron was looking at Fred and Hermione uncomfortably.

'I think Ron has something to say.' George said.

They looked at him and waited. Ron paused, wanting to speak but couldn't.

'It doesn't matter.' He mumbled, walking past them quickly and back inside.

xx

'I was in the middle of talking to her and she completely ignored me and starting snogging my brother!' Ron exclaimed at Harry who just yawned and tried to settle down to sleep.

'Well you have been going on a bit.' Harry said cautiously.

'No I haven't!'

'Yeah you have. Anyway, would you be annoyed if I started snogging Ginny during a conversation?' Harry asked.

Ron looked at him with a lot of confusion.

'Of course I would! For one that would be my little sister than you'll have your mouth wrapped around and you would have done exactly what Hermione just did!'

'Fine, that was a bad example. I just wanted to know.'

'Why?'

'No reason. Did you hear that Angelina wants her to try-out for the football team?' Harry mentioned, hoping that this would change the subject.

Ron shook his head and started to climb in to bed.

'I didn't really have the time to hear about it.'

'Well, Angelina saw her playing about with the ball, thought she was really good and asked her to come to the next lot of try-outs. She is good, though.'

'Oh congratulations, Ginny.' Ron said sarcastically. 'I can't believe Hermione did that after I told her about how she had her hands all over him!'

Harry rolled his eyes and turned in his bed, pulling the covers far over his head.

'Shut up and go to sleep, Ron.'

xx

As Fred and George walked towards their dormitory, Hermione grabbed George's arm.

'I'll be there in a minute.' George said.

Fred nodded and waved goodbye to Hermione before travelling up the stairs.

'What did you mean by 'wouldn't let him do anything you wouldn't'? Surely you knew what was about to happen.'

George laughed and pushed Hermione's hand away from his arm.

'I didn't mean anything like that. You're not my type.'

Hermione smirked.

'I know. Anyway, I already know your type. Be careful though, I think Neville's got a little thing for her as well.'

'What? How do you- I don't...' George babbled.

'Relax. Fred told me. I think it's sweet. But like I said, Neville has a little crush on her too. That's also not an invitation to play the 'who can win Luna over the fastest' game.'

'Thanks Hermione. You're marvellous. Can we continue this later? Fred might think we're up to something.' George nodded towards the stairs and Hermione smiled.

'Of course. Night, George.'

Then they both went to their dorms.

xx

'You told Hermione about Luna?' George whispered hitting Fred over the head slightly.

Fred frowned and hit him back.

'It's Hermione, George. It's not like I told Luna. You'll live.'

Eventually the twins changed and went to bed and laid in the silence, neither of them really being able to sleep. Everyone else had managed to drift off a long time ago, there was light snoring coming from one of their dorm mates but which one, they had no idea. There was a wind that made the curtains billow and bring in cold air. What idiot left the window open in this weather?

'So do you love her?' They both whispered to each other in the dark.


	5. Sleepless Nights

_I was up all night writing this and it's now ten to six in the morning. It's not as good as I wanted it to be but because my laptop is broken, I have no idea when the next time I'll have a working laptop with word is. So I'm very sorry if I don't post a new chapter for a while. I wonder if anyone can spot the huge amount of canon in this chapter? It's not going to be hard to spot, trust me. R&R and enjoy! I hope to see you all again soon!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

Hermione ran through the drafty corridors of the school, accidentally bumping in to people as she went, ignoring their shouts to be more careful, or to watch where she was going. Eventually she arrived at the place she was headed and pushed open the heavy white double doors. The room smelled sterile and had an uneasy atmosphere about it. It might have been the second year boy crying in one of the beds and saying 'I'm going to die' over and over again, or it might have been the way Fred, Ron and Ginny were crowded around one of the beds.

'I got here as fast as I could. What happened?' She said breathlessly, standing by the bedside looking down at George with a bandage wrapped around his head. Hermione's hair was more bushy than usual from all the running.

'George accidentally blew something up in his face.' Ginny sighed grabbing his older brother's hand. 'Gave us all quite a shock.'

Hermione looked at them all with confusion etched on her face.  
'What do you mean blew something up?' She asked, looking over at Fred specifically, knowing that he would probably have the answers that she wanted.

He smiled and stroked George's head comfortingly as he laid still.  
'You know how George and I want to open a joke shop? Well, he tested one of the products on his own and it backfired. His ear was badly damaged.'

Ron looked up at Hermione, his hands clasped tightly together with his body hunched over the bed as he sat next to George in one of the dirty hospital wing chairs.  
'He'll be okay though.' Ron said calmly.

Fred licked his lips and took a deep breath.  
'But his ear was badly damaged, like I said.' He paused. 'Actually, it was more...blown off. He's lost an ear. I was lost for words when I first saw him. There was quite a bit of blood.'

Hermione raised her voice to a high squeak.  
'Lost an ear? I keep telling you that some of those products are dangerous!'

Hermione was going to start a full blown lecture about the health hazards of the Weasley's Wheezes products but George had started to wake up.

'How do you feel, Georgie?' Fred whispered.

George tried to sit up in the bed with the scratchy and uncomfortable blankets falling off the side and on to the floor.  
'Saint-like,' he murmured.

'Was your mind affected as well?' Fred asked.

'Saint-like.' George repeated looking up at his brother. 'You see...I'm holy. _Holey_, Fred, geddit?'

Colour flooded Fred's pale face.

'Pathetic,' He told George. 'Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for _holey_?'

'Ah well,' said George grinning. 'At least mum will be able to tell us apart now.'

'At least you're alright, you know, besides the crap jokes.' Ron laughed, getting up out of his chair.

'Where are you rushing off to? You're not going to stay by me whilst I'm in my sickbed?' George asked him, watching him as he straightened out his clothes.

Ginny hit George's leg gently and made a tutting noise with her tongue.  
'You'll be out of the hospital wing before you know it. You look fine.'

'I've only got one ear, Gin. How can I look fine if I've only got one ear?'

'You know that's not what I meant.' Ginny said.

Ron raised his eyebrow and sighed.  
'Well, I've got homework so I'd better be off. I'll come and check on you later.' He moved his chair back to its original position next to one of the empty beds and left through the same double doors that Hermione had entered through earlier.

xx

'I thought you were going to stay with George in the hospital wing?' Hermione asked, going through her school books and marking pages with little sticky notes that she said she would need to reference for homework.

'He was given some painkillers, got drowsy and fell asleep. I'd be bored to death watching him sleep. Not to mention that it's a bit creepy.'

Hermione gave a little laugh as she stuck a small pink sticky note to the top of a page so that it stuck out.  
'Somehow, I don't think I'd be very good company either.'

'You're always good company.'

'I'm sorting out homework, Freddie. Haven't you got some to do as well?'

Fred paused and then started to laugh.  
'Did you just call me Freddie?'

Hermione stopped and looked up at him with wide eyes.  
'Oh gosh. I did, didn't I?' Her cheeks flushed pink and she tried to hide herself behind her book. 'Slip of the tongue, I won't call you that again, I promise.'

He smiled to himself and prised the book out of her hands and held it by his side. She immediately turned away and pretended that she was doing something else. There was a feeling of crippling embarrassment washing over her, like she was stuck in high tide. She didn't know why she felt embarrassed, it's only Fred. It's also not like she did anything stupidly embarrassing; she only called him by the nickname that his mother uses sometimes.

'You're adorable.' He smiled and tapped his fingers against the hardcover, tattered text book. 'You can call me Freddie any time you want. Only three of the most important people in my life can call me that. Mum, George and you.'

'What about your other brothers? Your dad? Ginny? They're important too,' Hermione asked, whipping the book out of Fred's hand and setting it down with her other books.

Fred rolled his eyes and grinned.  
'Yes, I know they are. However, they're not as likely to call me Freddie as the others are.'

'I've called you it once.'

'Well let's say that I've given you special permission to.' He softly grabbed her hand and pulled her in to a hug. 'You're wearing my necklace.' Fred whispered as he noticed the silver chain beneath her shirt collar.

Hermione subconsciously touched the chain with one of her hands which she had moved from around Fred's waist.

'Of course I am. It's beautiful. I mean, I don't wear it during class but as soon as school's finished, I'll come back to the common room and put it on. There's something comforting about having it on whilst I sleep.' Hermione put her arm back around Fred's waist. 'That didn't sound odd, did it?'

Fred broke the hug and sat on the arm of one of the common room chairs.  
'Nope. I think you wear it because it's the closest thing you've got to me at night. You want to hold me and kiss me. You miss me when you sleep.' He directed a wink at her and laughed.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him off the arm of the chair so he fall backwards.  
'You're ridiculous.'

'You're _ridiculously_ beautiful.'

Hermione sat down to begin doing her homework.  
'You're going to be _ridiculously_ annoying as I work, aren't you?'

He shrugged and sat up in the chair, his hair tousled and his clothes had become scruffy.  
'As _ridiculous_ as it sounds, maybe.'

Fred moved and sat next to Hermione, looking over at what she was scribbling on the piece of paper that was in front of her.

'The Nitrogen Cycle. Exciting.'

Hermione pretended that he wasn't there and concentrated solely on her essay. Well, as solely as she could with Fred giving his little comments and questions every now and then.

'What does that mean?'

'You're really pretty when you're trying to concentrate.'

'Am I distracting you?'

'This looks like such a boring subject. How are you managing to cope with it?'

Eventually Hermione just put down her pen and smiled sweetly at him. Perhaps, a little too sweetly. It looked like she was just about ready to kill.

'Fred, I know you're bored but I really want to get this done. We'll do something after I've finished, okay? Please just keep quiet for a little while.'

He nodded and pretended to zip his lips shut. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked around the common room. He couldn't help but smile at the empty gap on the fireplace where the ugly vase that he and George broke on Halloween used to reside.

Fred and George had broken many vases in their lifetime. Sometimes it was for practical jokes, like Halloween, or just through accidents when playing games. Sometimes, they got bored and knocked things on the floor to see if they would break or not. George had often gotten cut by broken pieces of vase when they were younger; it was typical that he would be the one who would accidentally blow his ear off. Fred would take George off to the bathroom to clean away the blood and console him if the cut was particularly painful and made George cry. Obviously, when Fred needed to be comforted after some form of pain, George would be the first one there. Not much has changed since then, back when they were just small boys playing together. They still protect each other and care for each other and they are still as mischievous as they were back then. That would probably never change.

When Fred saw George after his accident that cost him his ear, he wanted to just cuddle his brother close to him and look after him. It was always the way, a cuddle could cure any pain they were experiencing and, on occasion, it still could.

'Fred? Did you hear me? I said that I was done with my homework.'

'Oh right, sorry. I was in a world of my own.'

'Did you want to go and see if George is awake yet?'

'I don't see why not.'

They got up and exited the common room, their hands had found each other at some point, and Fred and Hermione had no idea when. That sort of thing just sort of happens without them even thinking about it now.

When they arrived at the hospital wing, George was awake and he wasn't alone. Harry was sat by him and they were laughing.

'I'm surprised that you haven't landed yourself in the hospital wing yet this year, Potter. Isn't this a new record for you?' George laughed loudly.

Harry agreed.  
'You're probably not wrong there.'

'I knew you'd come crawling back to me.' George smiled as Fred and Hermione walked towards his bed.

'I can turn around and go if you want?' Fred said, pointing towards the doors.

George laughed and sat up a bit more in bed.

'You wouldn't leave me.'

Fred sat next to George on the bed as Hermione sat next to Harry in one of the hospital wing chairs.

'No, I guess I wouldn't leave you. Ever.' Fred ruffled George's hair.

George leaned closer and cupped his ear.

'Sorry, could you say that again? I couldn't quite hear you.'

xx

'George is doing well. I think he'll be out of the hospital wing tomorrow morning.' Hermione said, running a hand through Fred's hair.

Fred sighed heavily and rest his chin in his hand.  
'Yeah, that's good. It's just going to be really quiet in the dorm tonight without George to talk to.'

'You'll get through, sweetie. It's only one night.'

'Yeah, I know.' Fred sighed again.

Hermione let her hands fall into her lap. She bit her lip and then let go of it just as quickly as a small idea popped in to her head.

'Do you think we could go and convince Luna to talk to George in the Hospital wing? He'd probably enjoy that. It might make him feel a bit better.'

'It might do actually. You're so smart, Hermione.' Fred sighed one more time, but this time it was more of a sigh of awe than sorrow.

'I only made a suggestion.'

Fred cupped Hermione's face in his hand.  
'But you still are very smart.'

He leaned back in and kissed her. It felt as good and exhilarating as it did the first time they had kissed, which happened accidentally, and yet, it was different in so many ways.

'Get a room you two.' Came a voice from across them. They broke apart and turned to see Seamus and Dean stood by.

Fred laughed and stretched his arms behind his back.

'We are in a room. _You_ just happen to be in it.' He replied with smug look on his face. He was fairly proud of that one.

Dean ignored Seamus' comment and Fred's response and went straight on to talk about George.

'I heard all about it. I hope he's alright, tell him I told him to get well soon, won't you?'

'He's got one ear, he's not sick. But yeah, I'll tell him.'

xx

'What makes you think that I could make George feel better?' Luna asked with her head tilted slightly to the left, a bunch of magazines clutched to her chest and her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulder.

Fred and Hermione quickly exchanged glances and Fred opened his mouth to speak but Hermione stopped him, sensing that something stupid was about to come out of it.

'You have such an infectious personality; we thought that it might be able to cheer him up a bit.'

Luna seemed to consider the request for a very long time until she agreed to it and began bounding away down the corridor rather quickly, her radish earrings swinging as she went. The two of them quietly ran after her but when they got to the doors of the hospital wing, they stopped.

The doors had windows in them and Fred and Hermione peered through them to find Luna and George laughing together. Luna was probably talking about some insane theory or mythical creature that she believed to be real.

'Let's leave them alone. They look like they'll be fine on their own.' Hermione said, pulling Fred away from the door. He stumbled and regained his balance quickly.

Fred stopped her from pulling him away from the door.

'I wish you could sleep with me tonight.' He whispered. 'Truth be told, I hate sleeping alone. I've rarely had to do it because George has always been there.' Fred murmured to Hermione.

Hermione's heart seemed to melt in her chest. She grabbed him and held him tightly against her with her head in his chest.

'You'll be okay, I promise. One night on your own won't hurt you because I won't let it. All you have to do is lie in bed and think about how after this one night of sleeping alone is over, George will be back.' Fred nodded and pulled away from Hermione and held her hand instead.

'Come on,' she said quietly. 'Let's go back to the common room.'

They walked back in silence; the only sounds were their shoes on the hard floor echoing around the corridors.  
Once they got back Fred leaned towards Hermione's ear.  
'You won't tell anyone, will you?' he asked her in a whisper so that anyone who might have heard him say it wouldn't ask questions.

She bit her lip and let go of his hand.  
'Wait right here.'

Hermione walked quickly up the stairs to her dormitory and about a minute later she walked back down holding one of her jumpers. She handed it over to him and smiled gently.

'Here. If you get lonely tonight, you can just hug this close to you and you'll know that I'm there with you, maybe not physically but emotionally and spiritually. Perhaps it's not as great as something George might own but I want to help in any way I can.'

Fred held the jumper tightly in his hands, he wanted to smile but for some reason, his body wouldn't let him.

'Thank you, Hermione. You really are the best girlfriend anyone could ask for.'


	6. The Spirit, The Soul and The Heart

_Sorry for the long wait! My laptop was broken and when I got it back, it was hard for me to start getting in to the swing of writing again. Damn writer's block! I hope you enjoy this chapter and please R&R! I love hearing what you've got to say!_  
_**~Bethany**_

* * *

Fred placed a small, playful kiss on Hermione's lips before pouting and putting on a fake sniff.  
'Don't go,' he cried through fake tears, kissing her again. 'Please,' another kiss. 'Pretty please?'

A few awkward eyes were trying not to stare at them too much in the common room, but George was sat next to his brother, eye rolling, staring and making gagging noises. The three of them had a blanket draped across their laps, keeping out some of the cold. It had gotten colder again in the last few days, Hermione was starting to wonder why the weather had to be so bipolar, then she remembered she lived in London and attended school in Scotland, neither places were exactly renowned for their fantastic weather patterns.

Hermione wiped away his fake tears and laughed.  
'I see you've learned how to cry on queue.'

He grinned and put his arm around her.  
'You noticed!'

She nodded and cocked her head to one side, letting her eyes move to the window, not really focusing on anything in particular.

'Yeah, when you're crying, you get a little wrinkle above your nose because you scrunch it up ever so slightly. You didn't have it just then.'

George nodded and gave Hermione an impressed look.  
'She's good. She's definitely a keeper, Fred.' He slapped his twins arm and motioned towards Hermione with his head.

'Yeah, thank you for that, George.'

'I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I couldn't hear you.' George responded with a little cheeky grin on his face and cupping his ear.

Fred rolled his eyes and elbowed George in the ribs.  
'Did you hear that?'

'I felt it, but didn't hear it. You don't tend to hear being someone elbowed in the ribs. Or at least, not in my experience you don't.'

Hermione clicked her fingers and waved her hand in front of them.  
'Hello? I'm still here and I was going to say something before George butted it.'

'Yeah, George, stop butting it!' Fred said.

George scoffed.

'I'm not butting in!'

Angelina Johnson walked past and slapped the twins around the head.  
'Oi, you two, let the girl talk,' she said and then smiled at Hermione knowingly before walking off to join Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Lee Jordan across the other side of the room.

The boys stopped and allowed Hermione to talk, rubbing the spots on their heads that Angelina had struck.

'Anyway,' she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. 'I'm not going for long and we're not going for another two weeks, plus I'll be staying at yours for christmas.'

Fred considered the last point for a moment and then mumbled loudly,  
'Note to self: buy lots of mistletoe.'

Hermione giggled and rested her head on Fred's shoulder, which she had started to do more often. The pair were growing closer to each other, they were becoming more intimate with each other without crossing each other's boundaries, because one of the things that their relationship was built upon was respect. Perhaps that was one of the many reasons why they worked so well together. Although it might just be better to accept that they fit together than to boil everything down to the chemicals in their brains, which Hermione happened to be very good at.

'You won't need mistletoe.' She assured him, making George pretend to vomit once again.

xx

Ginny came bounding in to the common room, wearing the red and gold football kit that belonged to the Gryffindor team with Harry behind her sporting the same outfit, the rest of the team following not far beyond. Angelina burst to the front of the team, staring at the common room's occupants.

She cleared her throat and stood up tall.

'Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to present you,' Angelina paused and licked her lips, hoping that the pause would create some kind of tension, 'the new Gryffindor football team striker. Ginny Weasley!'

Ginny stepped forward with a large grin on her face, the crowd cheered and clapped. Harry looked particularly enthusiastic about the ordeal.

'She's an extremely good player, we're lucky to have her. So, let's give her a warm welcome and get the party started!' Angelina's voice gradually got louder and once she announced the idea of a party, everyone cheered louder than before.

It wasn't long before there was music playing all around and the room was starting to be filled with questionable dance moves.  
Hermione managed to worm her way through the throng of people to go and congratulate Ginny who smiled and hugged her in return.

She walked back through the masses which seemed to have multiplied when she had her back turned. Her fingers found their way to the abandoned blanket on the sofa and she started to carry it up the winding stairs.

'And where do you think you're going?' Asked a voice following her up the stairs. Hermione didn't have to turn around to know that Fred was following her.

She smiled and carried on, stopping outside of the girl's dormitories.  
'I'm going somewhere quiet to study.'

'Don't you want to stay for Ginny's party?' He asked her, resting his head against the stone wall with a far away look on his face.

'I already said my congratulations. Besides, I haven't been studying as much recently.'

'And why is that?' Fred asked, the far away look turning in to something more mischievous and smug.

'Because I've been...preoccupied.' Hermione pushed open the door and walked in hastily. Fred managed to squeeze in before the door closed.

'You're not supposed to be in here.' She told him, folding the blanket up and placing it neatly at the foot of her bed.

'Everyone's downstairs having a good time. They're never going to know we were here.'

'Now you're making it sound like we're in some form of sordid and secret relationship.'

Fred frowned slightly and sat on the side of the bed, his arms folded across his chest and slightly wrinkled shirt.

'I am? I don't think I am.'

Hermione rifled through her neat and tidy belongings for a book, it didn't take long. She sat cross legged on her bed and started writing on a bit of paper that was tucked in to the crisp pages. They sat in silence for a little while before Fred got bored.

He crawled lightly up the bed and kissed Hermione on the cheek. She smiled, still working. Fred sighed and gently started playing with the ends of Hermione's hair, twisting it between his fingers, plaiting it and then letting it unravel again.

Hermione swept her hair over to the opposite side so Fred couldn't play with it.

'Sorry. Was that distracting you?' He asked her.

'Little bit.'

In Fred's mind, it took forever for Hermione to finish this bout of study when in reality, it must have been about thirty or thirty-five minutes. Fred was quite glad that Hermione had started cutting down on her work load. He thought she worked too hard and needed to take it easy.

He let her pack away her paper and book in peace. She sat upright and gestured towards the dorm door.

'Would you like to go back to the party?' Hermione asked.

Fred contemplated it and then shook his head.

'I'd much rather stay up here with you.' He grinned wildly and then bounded on her, pulling her down on to the bed so she was lying down and then tickled her. Hermione laughed and kicked and protested until Fred finally gave up.

They lay on the bed, foreheads held together and their fingers pressed against one another's necks, feeling the heart beat of their significant other. Hermione's was starting to slow down from the tickling session and Fred's heart rate was just above resting.

'Did you know that the Greeks believed the heart to be the seat of the spirit?' Hermione said softly, her eyes fluttered underneath her lashes and locked on to Fred's which were already on her.

'I do now,' he paused. 'Seat of the spirit?'

'Your spirit resides in your heart. Or that's how I tend to interpret it.'

Fred moved his head ever so slightly and Hermione followed with it.

'What's the difference between your spirit and your soul?' Fred asked her settling his head on the pillow.

Hermione laughed gently and licked her lips.

'Good question. The spirit is immaterial. Man is not spirit, he has spirit. The soul is how you relate to others and how you understand yourself. The Greek word for soul is 'psyche' which implies that the soul is the make-up of man. You are different for every other person. The spirit is part of the soul.'

Fred listened to her closely, hanging on to every word she said, like his life depended on those words that were being formed from the girl whom he got to kiss, hold tightly and give his heart to whenever he wanted to, within reason and when it was appropriate.

'I like knowing that there is only one of you,' he told her, using his free hand to play with her hair like he had been before. 'It makes me feel extraordinarily lucky that I'm the one that managed to find you first.'

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. She gently kissed him and lingered on his lips for just a bit longer than she probably should have.

'Thank you. You say such sweet things sometimes. It's funny though, one moment, you'll be saying things like that, the next, you're making joke shop products and throwing the small explosives you've made in front of first years as a practical joke.' She smiled widely at him. 'Perhaps that's one of the things I like about you. You're unpredictable.'

Fred stroked Hermione's cheekbone with his thumb softly which sent small shivers down her spine, like tiny icicles were piercing the skin.

'What would a smart girl like you with all your routines and organisation be doing with an unpredictable and silly guy like me?'

'Opposites attract.'

'That might be true for some.'

'It looks that way for us, don't you think?' Hermione questioned.

'Maybe.'

Hermione sat upright and ran her fingers through her hair and straightened out her clothes. She got up from the bed and stood by Fred.

'Come on, there's a party downstairs, people might start wondering where we've gotten to.'

xx

Ron was miserable at breakfast. He apparently didn't get a very good nights sleep because he was having nightmares of giant spiders attacking him. There were noticeable bags under his eyes and he was chewing moodily. Hermione was feeling quite chipper and had a large grin on her face. Harry was the way he always was, which was good because he could neutralise the attitudes of his two friends, or at least, that was what he was hoping for.

'Cheer up, Ron. It's christmas soon.' Hermione beamed pouring herself a drink of water. Ron however, didn't look impressed.

'Oh great, another jumper from my mum.' He grumbled in such a way that his bad mood might catch on to other people.

Harry swallowed a mouthful of food and chased it down with some water.  
'It's not that bad.' He said shovelling another mouthful in. 'It could be a lot worse.'

Hermione agreed with him.

'It can always be a lot worse. Two more weeks until our little camping trip and then it's off to The Burrow for mince pies and a cup of hot chocolate!' She reminded him. 'That's a good thing to look forward to.'

'I suppose so...'

'You need to show those spiders in your dreams who's boss. They're only dreams.' Harry said to him. Ron's eyes widened slightly and shrugged his shoulders.

'They feel real!' He exclaimed.

'Well they're not.' Hermione told him.

'I know!'

'Then man up and stop being so grumpy about it!'

Harry butted in before Ron could retaliate.

'That's enough. You better not be like this during the camping trip. I don't want to spend the night with you in a tent arguing.'

Hermione ate her breakfast calmly, she swallowed carefully and looked up at Ron and Harry smiling still.

'I don't plan on it.' She said, looking mainly now at Ron.

'Only if she doesn't give me reason to argue with her.' Ron answered in return.

Harry just gave up and didn't mention anything about it again. He hated the way that his friends were arguing so much recently. He thought that Ron was bitter towards Hermione because she was dating his older brother, and as a result of that bitterness, Hermione was bitter towards Ron. It was a vicious cycle that he thought would never end. Harry's thoughts and speculations were stopped as he saw Ginny across the table, laughing with her friends, who probably haven't been arguing as much as Ron and Hermione did. She saw him, waved slightly and he waved back. Ron nudged Harry, bringing him back to the conversation with Ron and Hermione.

'You're staring at my sister.' Ron informed him.

Harry gave him an apologetic smile and kept his head down. He didn't need to add fuel to the fire.

xx

'Why do you keep avoiding my question?' George asked, folding his arms and smiling at Fred.

'Get used to it. I'm going to keep avoiding it until I know for certain.' Fred told him, throwing a cushion at him. George caught it and threw it back. 'Why are you so eager to know any way?'

They passed the pillow to each other over and over, their eyes following it as it was thrown across the room.

'I want to know that you're happy, that's all.' George told him. Fred raised his eyebrows and held on to the cushion.

'You're an idiot.' Fred laughed, throwing the cushion which hit George and bounced off of his head and on to the floor. 'How did your conversation with Luna in the hospital wing go?' He asked, trying to change the subject.

George nodded.

'Good. She told me about Wrackspurts and Nargles. It was very...' he paused and tried to think of the correct word to end his sentence. 'Insightful.' He said.

'Well I'm glad.' Fred told him.

'Enough sappy talk.' George said loudly. 'We've got a new batch of puking pastilles to test out.'

'I hope these ones actually work.'

'For the sake of our health and the cleanliness of the carpets, I think we all do.'

xx

'This was a bad idea.' Fred said before vomiting the contents of his stomach out in to a bucket for the fourth time in ten minutes.

'It's back to square one then.' George sighed heavily. He winced at the noise of Fred throwing up and helped move him out of the room. 'I think we should get you to the hospital wing.'

It wasn't long before Hermione was sat next to Fred's bed and wiping his forehead with a cold, damp cloth and tutting to herself.

'Do you want me to go and get my jumper again?' Hermione whispered. Fred nodded lightly and held Hermione unused hand.

'Whenever George or I had a nightmare, we'd climb in to each other's beds because we thought we'd be safer there.'

Hermione smiled and laughed quietly.

'That's adorable.'

Fred smiled too.

'I'll be back soon, okay?' Hermione told him, getting up and kissing him on the cheek, leaving the cloth on his head to keep him cool.

She passed George on her way down the corridor, he had a book grasped in his hand. Hermione looked down at it. George noticed and held it up.

'Just in case he gets bored. I know how boring it can be in there.'

She nodded understandingly and then sighed.

'You boys and your home made joke shop products. They might kill you one day.' She looked at George with a stern look, one that he recognised as a look that his mother might have given him.

George shuffled on his feet lightly.

'Well I hope not.'

'Me too. Just be more careful, okay? I'd hate for anything to happen to you two.' Hermione crossed her arms and looked up at George who then apologised to her.

'But things already have happened.' George reminded her, pointing to where his ear should be.

'I mean something potentially fatal.'

George ruffled Hermione's hair and grinned.

'You're like a mother and a sister mixed in to one. You're basically a package deal.'

Hermione frowned slightly and shook her head, not being able to think of something to say in return. George laughed and carried on walking.

'Thanks for the concern!' He called back to her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and carried on her journey to retrieve the jumper that Fred had slept with a few weeks ago. It wasn't one that she wore particularly often but Fred seemed to appreciate it any way. Because she didn't really wear it, it still smelled of Fred. It was quite comforting to her for some reason.

Hermione was worried about Fred and George, she always was. She honestly didn't want to see either of them get seriously hurt. George's lost ear was enough for her, anything else would definitely be too much.

And seeing them lying in a bed, possibly dying and seriously injured, would certainly break her heart.


	7. The Most Important Meal Of The Day

_I know it's been a long time since the last update but I have good excuses! School's started back up and I've started my A Levels and I got ill and was taken to hospital. I'm okay now and somewhat back. I'm on a semi-hiatus. Please R&R and enjoy! **~Bethany**_

* * *

'How're we feeling today, Mr Weasley?' Madam Pomfrey chirped, setting a tray on Fred's wooden and ageing bedside table.

Madam Pomfrey had brown speckling hair, she was of medium height and a very stern woman. She didn't take nonsense from anyone and took her job incredibly seriously.

The hospital wing was empty apart from a Ravenclaw student who had an accident during Physical Education.

'Very well, thank you, Madam Pomfrey.' Fred answered, sitting upright in bed and smiling at the woman who was pottering around with a thermometer and something that didn't look particularly appetising for breakfast.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and placed her hand against his forehead.

'And how many times did you vomit last night?'

'Just the once.'

Fred had been in the hospital wing for a week now. He vomited a lot at the beginning, so much that he would vomit mostly stomach acid, but now the amount of times he'd do so had been considerably lowered. He had managed to work up a fever in the middle of the week, and even refused to eat a few times because all the vomiting had managed to put him off of his food.

'Open up.' Madam Pomfrey instructed.

Fred obliged and she shoved the thermometer under his tongue. There was approximately thirty seconds of awkward silence before the long awaited beep of the stick in Fred's mouth finally went off. Madam Pomfrey took it out and checked the result.

'You're back to your normal temperature now so I should be able to let you go later today or tomorrow morning.' Pomfrey said with a smile.

'Thanks, Madam Pomfrey.

'It's my pleasure, Mr Weasley. I suggest that you don't swallow foreign objects or liquids again. You don't know how toxic they might be. It's also just plain stupidity. I would have thought that someone your age would know better.'

Fred rolled his eyes behind her back and sighed quietly.  
'Yes, Madam Pomfrey.'

The Matron left the questionable food behind and took the tray with her back to her office. Fred looked at the bowl of something lumpy and beige in colour. Even the smell of it made him want to throw up all over again. He lifted the spoon up out of the bowl and let the contents of the spoon splash back in to the bowl. He pushed it away and stuck his tongue out in disgust.

xx

There was now only one week left until the camping trip that Harry had organised and the Christmas season was well under way.  
Twelve Christmas trees had been erected in the Great Hall, they were largely decorated with baubles, tinsel and a huge gold stars right at the top. The Christmas trees were not the only seasonal items that the Hall had become home to; there was synthetic snow on the tables and the walls had holly on them too, mistletoe hung from the ceiling and Christmas spirit had filled the air along with the smell of mince pies, cinnamon and hot roasted dinners.

Christmas seemed like a comforting time of year, even for poor little Harry, now that Mrs Weasley would graciously make him feel welcome every Christmas. It beat staying at Hogwarts alone any way. Staying with the Weasley's was like coming home for Christmas, but he supposed that he really was after all.

'What's the matter, Harry?' Hermione asked inquisitively, as she, Harry and Ron sat together at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. 'You've been awfully quiet.'

Harry looked up suddenly and his eyes took a little while to focus in on Hermione.  
'Hm?' Harry seemed out of touch with reality. 'Oh. The truth is, there's more to this camping trip than I've let on.'

Hermione sighed.  
'I thought as much.' She replied, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. Ron stared at her with one eyebrow raised.

'How could you have known?!' He asked completely bewildered.

'I don't see another reason we would be camping, do you? It's not like we would do it for some fun.' Hermione retaliated.

Ron frowned.  
'Well we could of!'

'Don't start fighting again.' begged a weary Harry.

'What's the reason then?' Ron wondered, giving Hermione a quick dissatisfied look before giving Harry his full attention.

'I'll tell you when we get there. I don't want anyone listening in.' Harry said under his breath, leaning in towards both Ron and Hermione so that only they could hear him.

Hermione gasped quickly, sat back upright then bolted back down again and whispered.  
'This is about Tom Riddle, isn't it?!' She hissed. 'He's been after you for years.'

Harry gave a solemn nod.  
'But don't worry, he can't, and won't. get me.'

'As long as you're sure...this is pretty serious...' Hermione trailed off and her eyes darted around the room. Although it would be unlikely for any of Riddle's spies to be listening in.

'I am. There's more I need to tell you but I will let you know when we've left.'

The three of them sat back and began to eat like the previous conversation hadn't even happened at all. But of course, it had, and that little fact was always in the back of their minds. They smiled on the outside and joked and laughed, but on the inside, where no one else could see, they were worried and scared and were thinking of all the things that Tom Riddle could possibly be planning against them. Or, to be more specific, against Harry himself.

xx

Hermione could feel the gentle movements of Fred's fingers through her wild and untamed hair. They could hear nothing but the heartbeats of one another and the sounds of their breathing. Hermione was laid across her boyfriend's lap as Fred sat upright on the sofa. He had been released from the hospital wing earlier that day, he was very thankful that he didn't have to stay there much longer with Madam Pomfrey and her disgusting medicines and her disgusting breakfast foods.

'I'm bloody starving.' Fred frowned.

'Maybe you should have eaten the breakfast Madam Pomfrey gave you this morning then. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.'

'I know. I know...I need to give you your jumper back.' Fred said, trying to change the topic so Hermione wouldn't give him a lecture.

'Keep it.' replied Hermione.

'Are you sure?'

'Positive.'

Hermione reached up to her neck and fiddled with the bejewelled F that hung from the silver chain. She honestly loved that necklace, if she could, she would never take it off. The silver looked particularly striking against the light shade of her skin, making her feel like she was made of porcelain. She felt quite bad that she had nothing to give to Fred in return for the necklace. It looked like it must have cost a fair bit. That made her feel worse because the Weasley family were quite poor, he must have saved up for a while. She was also concerned that it took her that long to realise how much it must have cost him in the first place. She wanted to ask, but she knew that he wouldn't give her an answer.

'What would you like for Christmas?' She asked eventually.

'It's a bit late to be asking that, isn't it?' Fred replied.

'Not at all...Maybe...I don't know.'

'That'll be a first.' smirked Fred.

'Hey!' She cried, sitting upright and elbowing him in the side.

'That,' said Fred, rubbing his side, 'was uncalled for.'

Both of them couldn't help but giggle.

'I'm not seeing your point.' She shrugged.

'Hello, 'ello. What've we got here, then?' George asked, jumping over the common room sofa, landing on it very ungracefully and putting his feet up on the table.

'Two large geckos, obviously.' Fred said sarcastically.

George nodded and grinned.

'Oh yeah, I can see it now. When did Pomfrey let you go?'

'Around two, I think.'

'Thinking isn't really your strong point though, is it?' George said in a mater of factly tone.

Hermione got up and smiled awkwardly.

'I should leave you two to catch up.'

Fred reached out and grabbed Hermione's wrist.

'No, no no no, stay! George doesn't mind, do you?' Fred gave George a pleading look. George smiled at the both of them.

'Of course I don't.'

Hermione paused and looked at them both before finally giving in and sitting back down to join the conversation.

They spoke for a while about everything and nothing in particular, the weather, school, their favourite things about Christmas (for Hermione it was everyone's spirit, for Fred, it was the food, and for George, he admitted that he loved getting presents, despite the ugly jumpers he receives from his mother.), they even half heartedly discussed politics.

'Speaking of politics, I've got an essay to write.' Hermione told them.

'What kind of essay?' George wondered, taking his feet off the table. His legs hurt from keep them outstretched for so long.

'History.'

'How did a discussion of politics remind you of that?' Fred asked.

'It's political history.'

'Ah.'

Hermione got up and kissed the crown of Fred's head, then she went over and patted the top of George's.

'See you both later!' Then she bounded up the stone steps and in to her dorm.

Once she was there, she let her smile drop. She had lied, she didn't have an essay to write about the history of politics. Really, she wanted somewhere quiet to think about what she could get Fred for Christmas. She had the idea of getting him a matching necklace with an 'H' on it, but decided that it would probably be too mushy and Fred probably wouldn't want to wear a necklace. She thought about getting him a teddy bear, or a new pair of football boots as his were starting to fall apart, or a joke book, or joke shop products. Nothing seemed right though. How could it be so difficult to buy a Christmas present for someone?

Luckily, Ginny had just walked in.

'What do you think Fred would like for Christmas?' Hermione asked her.

'Hello to you too. You've left it a bit late haven't you?'

'Yes, I know.' Hermione sighed heavily.

'If it helps,' Ginny began, 'I got him a pair of novelty socks.'

'Well, Fred got me this necklace, he just gave it to me early.' She touched the piece of jewellery carefully.

Ginny smiled.

'I know. I helped him pick it out.'

'Oh. Help me pick something for him. Please?' She begged.

'Sure.' She gave Hermione a hopeless smile and sat down.

'Tell me all the ideas that you've had so far.'

xx

It was dark outside and very very cold. It was approximately four am on a Sunday morning when Fred quietly walked in to the girl's dormitory and found his way to Hermione's bed, which took more effort than he thought. He knelt down and gently shook her awake.  
She groaned and opened her eyes very slightly and yawned.

'Morning, Hermione.' he whispered to her. She just groaned in reply.

Eventually she managed to wake herself up enough to engage in conversation.

'What're you doing here?' she asked almost inaudibly.

'Get up, put on your warmest clothes and meet me in the common room in five minutes.'

'Why?'

'It's a surprise.' Fred got up to leave but then crouched back down again. 'I almost forgot, make sure you wear shoes with an okay grip.' Then, he left.

Five minutes later, Hermione walked down the stairs in a pair of trousers, a jumper, a coat, hat, scarf and gloves. She folded her arms and yawned.

'What are you up to?' She asked moodily.

'Come with me and you'll find out.'

Fred held her hand and began walking away with her.

She reluctantly went along with him. They quietly crept through the castle corridors and down the stairs, making sure they avoided bumping in to Argus Filch, the Caretaker.

'Where're we going?' Hermione whined under her breath.

He led her out in to the courtyard and towards the the lake.

'We're going to get in to trouble!' continued Hermione when Fred wouldn't give her an answer.

'We're here now any way.' Fred told her.

On the bank by the lake was a large picnic blanket, with a flask and a basket on top. He sat down on the blanket and pulled her down next to him.

'We're going to have breakfast before we have breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.' He picked up the flask and unscrewed the lid with a large grin. 'Hot chocolate?'

Hermione laughed, appreciating the joke he made and then nodded.

'Sure. As long as we're quick.'

'We'll be fine, I promise. You need to loosen up a bit.' He took out a mug from the basket and poured the brown liquid in to it and handed it over to her. She took it and held it in between her gloved hands.

'Thank you.' she said taking a sip.

Fred poured himself out a mug as well.

He searched through the basket and pulled out a croissant.

'Still warm. Thankfully.' Fred handed it over to her.

'How did you get all of this?' Hermione asked warily, putting her mug down to take the pastry.

'It doesn't matter.' Fred looked up at the sky. 'Very pretty.'

Hermione looked up too and saw the stars as they twinkled in the the moon light that Fred was talking about.

'Not as pretty as you though.' Fred told her, looking at her and smiling like a love sick child.

'Oh, stop it.' Hermione blushed, luckily, it was too dark for Fred to see.

Fred grinned and his eyes widened.

'No, I honestly mean it.'

Hermione paused and grinned.

'Thank you.' She used one of her hands to hold on to his.

There was a few minutes of silence.

'Drink and eat up! There's more!' The words burst out of Fred like he couldn't possibly hold on to it for much longer.

They drank and ate pretty much in silence after that. Occasionally looking at each other or up into the sky. Once they had finished, Fred stood up and took her closer to the lake. He stepped on to it. It was completely frozen.

'No, Fred! It's too dangerous!' Hermione panicked, trying to pull him back.

'It's frozen! See!' Fred jumped on it. 'I tested it out earlier.' Fred let go of Hermione's hand and walked across it, then he ran, then he slid. 'It's fine. Come on! Just five minutes. Please? You might actually have some fun.'

Hermione gave in, although she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that signified danger to her. She stepped on the ice warily and slipped. Fred held her steady.

'It's okay. I've got you.' He whispered and guided her on to the ice. 'You okay?'

Hermione laughed nervously.

'I'm not sure.'

'Hold on to my waist.'

Hermione did so.

Fred walked along the ice slowly so Hermione could get used to the ice. After that, five minutes turned in to ten, ten turned in to twenty. Before they knew it, it was half past five. Hermione was starting to slide along the ice now, despite the few tumbles and falls she had suffered.

'I think it's time to go back.' Hermione laughed as Fred tried to show off and fell down on to his bum.

Fred stood back up but ended up looking like Bambi on ice.

'I think you're right.' he got back the control of his limbs and walked over to Hermione who was trying to keep herself steady. 'But first...' he paused and leaned over to kiss her. Their lips caught each other, despite the fact they were both cold, they felt very warm. Fred's arms went around Hermione's waist and Hermione's went around the back of his neck.

Hermione moved to get more comfortable but slipped instead. They both laughed and Fred helped her up.

'Definitely time to go.' He agreed. 'Did you have fun?'

'I did, actually. Thank you. It was lovely.'

They walked back on to the bank and packed away their pre-breakfast breakfast things. They took one another's hand and walked back towards the castle to return to their beds before anyone noticed that they had gone at all.


	8. Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come

_Two chapters within 24 hours?! Impossible! Nope. I was off sick today so I decided to use my free time to write the next chapter. I'm still on a semi-hiatus though. Please R&R and enjoy!_  
**_~Bethany_**

* * *

The Great Hall was empty except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and a few others that were, for one reason or another, staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. Fred wanted to stay so he could see Hermione off on the camping trip safely, and George stayed because Fred was staying. There were Christmas carols being sung somewhere, but there was nobody there to sing them. There wasn't any kind of speaker system for the school to play carols into the hall either.

There were many legends that the school is haunted. They say that there's the ghost of a fourteen year old girl in the girls bathroom on the first floor. According to the story tellers, she looked dead in the eye of a creature and just dropped down dead. They say that the creature is hidden in a secret chamber within the school. In Harry's second year, that bathroom was flooded, harmless prank or the work of an upset ghost?

If someone's items went missing or moved, it was the work of the Hogwarts poltergeist, or alternatively, it could easily have been Fred and George. They seemed to blame unusual things on the poltergeist often.

Someone had even come up with the idea that each house had its own ghost. Some students believed the legends, others didn't. Some of the more gullible or superstitious members of the school took care when walking about the school alone. Especially in the dark.

If there were ghosts in the school, they wouldn't be singing Christmas carols. Would they?

Harry and Ron were playing chess whilst the others watched, Fred and Hermione held one another's hands under the table.

'Don't you two want to go? Ginny will be on the train on her own.' Hermione said to Fred and George

'She'll be fine.' George answered, nudging Harry and motioning to where he could put his pawn on the board.

'Ginny can look after herself. Besides, we can get a different train back.' Fred reminded her. 'I want to make sure you get off safely.'

'We're older than Ginny. We can definitely look after ourselves.' Hermione pointed out.

Ron looked up from his game and gave his brothers an apologetic look.

'She's got a point.' Said Ron.

Fred pretended to look hurt and let go of Hermione's hand.

'If I didn't know any better, Miss Granger, I'd think you were trying to get rid of us. Don't you think so, Georgie?'

'Certainly seems that way. How cruel.' George answered, picking up Ron's king and sticking it in the hole where his ear should have been.

Ron frowned and whacked George on the arm. Then he took his chess piece out of George's ear and placed it back where it should have been on the board. Harry looked on and laughed at the pair of them.

For once, everyone was happy. Ron and Hermione were not fighting, that made Harry happy, Fred was with Hermione and that made him happy and George was happy because Fred was happy. Hermione was happy because everyone else was. This was just how things should be. Of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that this happiness was not to last. Later that day, Harry would be telling them something about Tom Riddle that they would rather not hear. Hermione put this to the back of her mind and changed the subject.

'Will Bill and Fleur be joining us for Christmas dinner at the Burrow?' She asked, looking between the twins and Ron.

'I don't think so.' Ron said. 'They're probably going to spend their first Christmas together as a married couple at Shell Cottage.'

'Three guesses what's going to happen there.' Fred and George said in unison, giving them all a cheeky, knowing smile, then gave each other a high five.

Hermione ignored them and their childish jokes.

'It really was a lovely wedding though, wasn't it? Fleur looked absolutely beautiful. Bill looked rather handsome too.' Hermione smiled as her mind went back to their wedding day, which she had the honour of attending earlier in the summer.

'Woah,' Fred said, propping his elbow up on the table. 'I hope you're not hinting that you fancy my older brother?'

'He's a married man, you know. You wouldn't want to be a home wrecker, would you, Hermione?' George piped in.

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

'Of course not! I'm just saying!'

Fred and George grinned wildly. They did like teasing Hermione every now and then.

'You looked very handsome as well, Fred. You know I think that of you anyway.'

George frowned and gave her puppy dog eyes. Hermione saw him and laughed hopelessly.

'You too, George.'

The twins smiled and put a hand to their hearts jokily.

'Thank you, Hermione.' They both said.

'Checkmate!' Ron yelled suddenly, causing a few other students to turn and look at them.

Harry grimaced and started to put the pieces back to their correct starting positions on the board. Ron was very good at chess. Harry often wondered how he managed to become so good at the game. Practice seemed to be the most likely explanation. Or maybe Harry was just really bad, even with George's help. At least he was a bit better than him at football.

Harry looked up at the clock on the wall.

'We should go soon if we want to be there on time.' he told them. 'Have you two got everything you need?'

Hermione checked under the table for her bags.

'All of mine are present!' She grinned.

Ron nodded.  
'Yeah.'

George tilted his head to one side.

'Do you guys actually have a tent?'

'Yeah, we do,' Harry answered. 'I picked one up from Hogsmeade ages ago.' (There were also reports that the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade Village was haunted, earning itself the title of most haunted building in Britain.)

'Speaking of Hogsmeade,' began Fred. 'We've got to get to Hogsmeade Station after you've gone.'

Hermione picked up her bags. She slung her backpack on her back, a messenger bag across her shoulders and carried a plastic bag of food and drink in her hand.

'We should go then.' Hermione sighed. 'We wouldn't want you two to miss your train.'

Ron and Harry stood up and picked up their things too, leaving the chess set behind for someone else to play with. Fred and George stood up to see them out, neither of them had any luggage as the luggage they were going to take home with them, Ginny took with her on the Hogwarts express.

They all walked towards the Hogwarts entrance and out in to the courtyard. It was there that the five of them would part.

'I'll miss you.' Fred said to Hermione quietly. He played with the tips of Hermione's fingers with his own.

Hermione smiled gently at him.

'We'll be back before you know it.'

'Take care of yourself, won't you?' He said, his eyes were wide.

'Of course. And you.' She pulled her hand away from his and hugged him. Fred wrapped his arms around Hermione as best as he could since her bags were in the way. He kissed her on the cheek but Hermione decided to kiss him properly. Her lips lingered on his like they were a good memory she didn't want to lose. Fred's lips would soon start to feel like home to her.

'Are you two quite done?' George asked.

They pulled away and apologised. Ron and Harry went to say goodbye to Fred whilst Hermione said her goodbyes to George.

'I would tell you to look after him, but I know that you will anyway.' She laughed.

'You can count on me!' George saluted.

'I'll see you soon.' She said.

Once they had all said goodbye to one another, they departed, Fred and George going left, and Ron, Harry and Hermione going right.

xx

They had been walking for hours now. All three of them were exhausted, no one more-so than Ron.

'Are we nearly there _yeeeet_?' He whined, for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last half hour.

Harry sighed heavily.

'No, not yet.' He wiped some sweat off of his brow with the back of his hand.

'When will we get there?' Ron asked.

'When we get there!' Snapped Hermione who was getting more weary with Ron complaining than she was with the walk.

'But my feet hurt!' Ron snivelled.

'So do everyone else's!' Hermione clamoured.

Harry decided it was best to just ignore them and leave them to it. They could argue all they wanted, he didn't care. He just wanted to get to where he wanted to be so they could erect the tent, sit down, have something to eat and get some sleep. One of the only things that was keeping Harry moving was the idea of getting this camping trip done and what he wants to say out of the way, so they could go to the Burrow. They could sit down at the dinner table with the rest of the Weasley family, have a magnificent Christmas dinner, play games, tell jokes and have just a lovely Christmas all-round.

The wind was harsh against the trio's skin which was causing it to dry out and their lips to become cracked and sore.

They walked for an hour more across hills and rocks before Harry stopped at the top of a large hill in the middle of, what seemed like, nowhere.

'We're here.' He proclaimed.

'Is this it?!' Ron asked as he looked around in disappointment.

'Yes. It's isolated. We shouldn't be found here.' Harry told him.

They took five minutes to sit down and have a drink, eat a sandwich each and pick up some of their strength so they could set up their tent.

'Are you sure that goes there?' Hermione asked as Ron struggled to get two of the poles to fit together.

'Yes I'm sure!' Ron dropped the poles in his lap. 'Bloody hell, Hermione! You put me off!' Humped Ron frustrated. He picked the poles back up and attempted to fit them back together again.

'I did not!' Protested Hermione. 'But if you don't want to be put off any more, I'll be over here!' She stormed off and sat by Harry who was doing a much better job of putting up the tent than Ron was.

Harry sighed and put the pole into the hole in the ground. He wiped his hands on his trousers.  
'You and Ron have another argument?' he asked, even though he knew already what her reply might be.

Hermione sighed heavily and pushed her hair over her shoulder and then started to help Harry.

'Not exactly. I left before we could.'

It took them about forty five minutes to get the tent upright and steady. When finished, they crawled inside it and unrolled their sleeping bags. Even though it was new, the tent smelled bad. It was cramped, yes, but that would probably aid them during the night. It would keep them huddled together so they could be kept relatively warm through their body heat. Each of them sat on their sleeping bags, Ron and Hermione looked at Harry expectantly.

'Come on then,' Hermione egged Harry on, 'Tell us what you know.'

xx

The train that Fred and George took was quiet. Most of the other students had taken the Hogwarts Express back to London.

They had managed to acquire a carriage of the train to themselves. They sat on opposite seats of the carriage and put their feet up on each other's seats.

'Do you even know why they've gone camping?' George asked.

'A bit of fun?' Fred answered him.

'Maybe.' George paused for a second or two. 'Do you really believe that though?'

Fred smiled.

'Not even a little bit.'

George smiled too, it was identical to his twins, which of course, was something you could expect from identical twins.

'Me neither.' George stuck his hands inside of his pockets. 'What made you think that?'

'Hermione looked worried. If she looks worried about something, you should probably be worried about it too.'

'I take it that you're worried then?' George assumed.

'Of course. I'm always worried about her.' Fred exhaled heavily and looked out of the window. The only thing that could be seen for miles was the browning British countryside. Occasionally, a sheep, a cow or a horse could be seen grazing in the fields.

'That's probably wise.' George sighed. 'She's friends with Harry and she's always willing to help him fight off Tom Riddle and he's a dangerous man.'

'Thank you for that reminder, Georgie.' Fred said in a melancholy tone. The idea of Hermione sacrificing herself to save Harry appeared in head often and made him feel rather uncomfortable.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Fred didn't look away from the window and George kept his head down and played with his fingers.

'I'm sorry,' George said finally. 'I didn't mean to-'

'It's fine.' Fred interrupted him. He looked away from the window and smiled at his brother. Then he noticed the sweet trolley lady walking down the aisle of the train through window of the carriage door. 'Do you want something to eat?'

Fred pushed his hand inside his pocket and pulled out some gold, but discolouring, coins.

'Uh,' George thought. 'Just get two boxes of jelly beans?'

'Sure.' Fred got up and waited for the ageing lady with the trolley to come down. He smiled politely and asked for two boxes of jelly beans. He gave her the money and she took it gently and smiled, she gave him the boxes in return.

'Enjoy your trip.' She croaked.

'Thank you!' Fred grinned and went back inside the carriage and sat down as the lady carried on wheeling her cart down the aisle.

Fred chucked a box over to George and he caught it with both hands.

'Cheers.'

'Don't mention it.' Fred shrugged and opened the box, he tilted the box so that a few of the multi coloured beans landed in his hand. He opened his mouth and chucked them in. He chewed noisily and swallowed. 'So,' he began, raising an eyebrow at George, 'Have you spoken to Luna recently?'

George grinned and ate his beans.

'Not recently.' He said calmly.

'Then why do you look so happy?' Fred asked, leaning forward in his chair.

George wiped the smile that had appeared off of his face.

'Happy? I don't look happy. What on Earth gives you that idea?'

'The goofy grin that was on your face a moment ago.' Fred poked George's cheek.

'I honestly don't know what you mean.' George sat back further in his chair.

Fred's grin spread from ear to ear.

'Is it because I said her name?' Chimed Fred. 'Does just the sound of her name make you swoon?' Now he just sounded like he was mocking him. He even dramatically put his hand to his forehead like you would see a swooning woman do in the movies.

'Of course not!' George protested.

'Luna! Luna! Luna! Luna!' Fred repeated over and over again. 'Look!' he pointed to George. 'You're going all red!'

And indeed, he was. George's cheeks had gone a bright shade of pink.

'Oi, get off it!' George frowned but laughed awkwardly any way.

Fred sat back and put his feet back up and enjoyed some more of his jelly beans.

'Awh, how sweet.' He said. 'Little Georgie's in love.'

xx

Hermione and Ron took a moment to process what they had just heard.

'And you're sure he's planning an attack on the school?' asked Hermione. Her heart was beating inside of her chest. It wasn't in the same way it would when Fred kissed her, or held her, or told her how beautiful she was to him. No, it was different. She was terrified.

'Yes.'

'Bloody hell...' Was all that Ron could manage to say.

'We have to warn everyone at once!' Hermione cried out. 'We should tell the police!'

Harry chewed on his lip.

'Maybe...'

Ron glowered at Harry.

'What do you mean maybe?! If Tom Riddle is planning to attack the school, there's a high risk of people dying!'

'Ron's right, Harry. We don't need, or want, innocent blood on our hands.' Hermione agreed. 'When do you think he'll attack?' she asked.

Harry shook his head slowly.

'I don't...I don't know.'

Ron laid back on his sleeping bag.

'Fat lot of good that is! Was there really any point to this trip? Couldn't we have done this at home?!'

All of a sudden it seemed like something had snapped inside of Harry and just began to shout at his best friend.

'I'm sorry, Ron! I'm sorry that I don't know everything! I'm just telling you what I know! It's better than knowing nothing at all, you should be grateful that I'm telling you in the first place! I'm sorry your feet hurt and that you'd rather be at home eating mince pies, but that's not going to happen today! This is what's happening. Tom Riddle is planning to attack us and we're going to stop him whether you like it or not! People are in danger and that's why we couldn't go back to the Burrow straight away. Sadly, this isn't going to be an ordinary Christmas for us!'

They sat in silence for a while before Hermione decided to speak. He voice was flat and monotone. Hoping that her tone of voice wouldn't anger anyone.

'I think it's time we went to bed.'

The three of them climbed in to their sleeping bags and didn't say another word for the rest of the night. It was unlikely though, that any of them were asleep for the first few hours of the night anyway. There was too much on their minds for that. Hermione laid on her side, twisting her necklace between her fingers. It was surprisingly therapeutic and made her feel a lot better after watching Harry's outburst at Ron.

She couldn't help but think that if Riddle was going to attack the school, Fred would be in danger. That thought scared her even more than she had been previously.

She carried on twisting the necklace and let her mind wander with thoughts until she finally managed to fall asleep.


	9. Mistletoe

_And here it finally is! The long awaited next chapter. I'm sorry for my absence from this fic and I'm sorry that this isn't one of my best chapters. I had a day off and nothing to do, so this happened. Please do R&R!_  
_Anyway, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless and I wish you all the happiest of holidays!_  
_**~Bethany**_

* * *

It was approximately six am on Christmas morning when Harry, Ron and Hermione had made their way back to The Burrow. Ron snuck quietly into the house first, it was a mess, but at least it smelled warm and comforting from the baking that his mother had done the night before. Harry and Hermione followed in after him, they walked as quietly as they could up the stairs to Ron's bedroom, but the stairs were old and creaked quite loudly as they walked. Every now and then they would stop and make sure they couldn't hear anyone walking about. Once they had safely made their way to Ron's bedroom they set down their things and sat together on the floor. All of them were exhausted but they knew that if they fell asleep now, they would not wake in time to start the Christmas celebrations with everyone else. Harry and Ron had mildly patched things up now, much to Hermione's delight. She didn't think she could handle the two of them arguing at Christmas.

'I almost forgot to say,' Hermione said quietly after a few minutes of huddled silence. Harry and Ron looked at her expectantly. 'Merry Christmas!'

Harry and Ron smiled at her and wished her a Happy Christmas too, they hugged one another and sat back down, and keeping close so they might be warm since The Burrow could get quite cold during the winter.  
They stayed up for a little while talking together silently until about eight o'clock in the morning when they could smell Mrs Weasley's cooking wafting up the stairs. The trio crept back down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Molly was chopping some carrots. When she turned to grab a saucepan and saw them, she almost screamed and sent the pan crashing to the floor. The four of them started to laugh and Molly went over and hugged Ron, then Hermione and finally Harry. She hugged Harry for the longest. Molly kissed them all on the cheek and then went back to her cooking to make sure it wasn't burning.  
'What was all that racket?' Ginny asked from the top of the stairs.

'Nothing, dear. I just had a little fright, that's all.' Molly responded cheerily.

The next thing they could hear was the sound of Ginny rushing down the stairs. She flew past in a flash of ginger and pink, from her dressing gown, and fell straight in to Harry's arms. Harry went to hug her too but she pulled away from him faster than she had come.  
'Merry Christmas, Harry.' She said awkwardly to him.  
Harry smiled, not realising how much he had actually missed Ginny whilst he had been away. At least he was there with her now.

'Yes, Happy Christmas.' He responded with a crooked smile. Ron coughed uncomfortably and then hugged Ginny, Harry assumed it was just because he didn't like the way that Ginny was greeted Harry in the way that she did, even though it could have been a lot worse. Ginny hugged her brother and smiled at Hermione before letting go and kissing her mother on the cheek. 'Did you all have a good trip?' Ginny asked.

Hermione looked between the boys and licked her bottom lip.  
'It wasn't bad, yeah.' She answered. 'It was nice to just go for a walk. Mini adventures can be quite fun.' Hermione grinned and the two boys agreed.

'Go and get all of your dirty clothes and I'll have them cleaned, washed and dried for you.' Molly said as she wiped her hands on a towel that was hanging from the strings of her apron that she had around her waist.

Harry, Ron and Hermione went noisily back upstairs to collect their clothes, forgetting that other members of the Weasley household would be fast asleep. As Ron opened his bedroom door, the twins opened theirs.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?' George asked with a cheeky grin as he leaned against the door frame. Fred's voice could be heard just behind him.  
'It looks like a trio of trouble makers to me.' Fred laughed, leaning against the other side of the door frame.

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes.  
'Yes, because _we're_the trouble makers.' He said walking into his bedroom and starting to pick up his clothes.

'We're so glad that you can admit to it.' George said with a chuckle. Harry went in after Ron smiling at Fred and George's comments. He knew that they irritated Ron but he did find it extremely amusing.  
Fred pushed passed George and hugged Hermione tightly.  
'Merry Christmas, sweetheart.' He said just before he kissed her on the cheek.

'And a very merry Christmas to you too.' Hermione sighed happily as she felt the comfort of Fred's arms around her, and the feel of his breath on her neck. It was a very calming moment. They eventually let go of each other and they just stared into one another's eyes for a few moments and grinning broadly as Harry and Ron went downstairs with their clothes.

'Did you have a nice time?' Fred asked. George was making gagging noises in the background as he so often did but Hermione and Fred had both managed to learn to block out the sounds he made.

'I did actually. Harry and Ron had a small dispute but apart from that, it was nice.' Hermione told him. 'How were you?' she asked as she grabbed a hold of Fred's hand and giving it a squeeze.  
It took Fred a while to answer Hermione, as he was too busy thinking about how much he just wanted to go back to bed but this time he wanted to take Hermione with him. Not to have sex, he wouldn't want to force anything like that on Hermione unless she was totally sure she wanted to. He just wanted to lie with her and hold her and enjoy each other's company. He couldn't help but think how cosy it would be just to lie in bed with her on a cold Christmas morning, maybe drinking a hot chocolate and watching the snow fall through the window.

'I missed you.' He answered her eventually. Hermione kissed him gently and her cheeks started to go a little bit red.

'Well, I'm back now.' Hermione told him with a grin.

'I can see that.' Fred lifted the hand that wasn't being held by his girlfriend and pushed her hair behind her ear.

'Hermione! I need your clothes!' Molly shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Hermione let go of Fred and smiled apologetically as she walked in to Ron's bedroom to gather her clothes. She brought them downstairs and was met by the knowing grin of Ginny.

'I take it that you said hello to Fred then?' She asked leaning against the wall. Hermione gave Molly her clothes and Molly put them away to wash later with the boy's clothes.

'I did, yes.' Hermione said calmly as she crossed her arms over her chest. Molly quickly put an end to their conversation before it even began by asking Ginny to go and tell everyone to get up and get dressed so they could have breakfast. Ginny trooped up the stairs and knocked on everyone's bedroom door and yelled at the inhabitants to get dressed. Ginny was dressed and downstairs first, followed by Arthur Weasley and the twins. They sat at the dinner table as Molly served them a full English fry up breakfast. The Weasley Christmas tree was set up just by the table; it was huge and covered in tinsel and baubles. There was even a light coating of fake snow on the branches. They ate until their plates were clean before sitting together in the living room.

'Harry?' Ginny said meekly, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Harry turned around. 'Shoelaces.' She said to him. Harry looked at her slightly confused.

'I'm sorry?' he said. Ginny knelt down and started to tie up Harry's shoelaces which had become undone at some point during the course of the morning.

'Thank you.' Harry said as Ginny returned to her feet. They were stood so close together that they didn't even notice when their lips touched. Ginny heard the footsteps of her mother and stood backwards.

'You're welcome.' She smiled gently.

xx

At two o'clock they all gathered back around the dinner table for Christmas dinner. Molly had cooked them all a meal of turkey and vegetables. Molly sat at the head of the table so it was easy for her to move around to serve up more food when needs be, Arthur sat to her right, the twins sat next their father, Hermione sat opposite Fred, Ron was next to Hermione, Harry next to Ron, and Ginny next to Harry.  
It took forty five minutes for everyone to eat and finish their dinner. Molly and Arthur cleared the plates from the table as everyone else sat and chatted between themselves. When Mr and Mrs Weasley returned, they did so with a handful of Christmas crackers. They gave one to everyone sat around the table; they crossed their arms over and pulled. There was a chorus of little bangs as the crackers were pulled apart and their contents spilled across the table. Everyone put on a little coloured paper crown, read their jokes and played with the small toys that were there too. Afterwards, Molly got back up to collect the presents that lay under the tree. Of course, everyone got a brand new knitted garment from Molly. Hermione and Harry put on their new scarves, the twins put on the jumpers they had received since they had destroyed their last ones, whilst Ron and Ginny got some knitted hats with little fuzzy balls on top.  
'Thanks, Mum.' Ginny said with a smile.  
'Yes, thank you, Mrs Weasley.' Hermione said after Ginny. Molly smiled contently.  
'You're very welcome, Hermione, dear.' Molly left again to get dessert which was a slice of homemade Christmas cake which came with optional custard or cream.  
Each of them ate and then went off to the living room once more, but this time they were going to play some board games as afternoon entertainment. Everyone managed to win one round at least, but there were a few arguments over who won, or should have won, each game. Then again, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without at least one argument?

Molly and Arthur carted them all to bed at nine o'clock since she was so tired from preparing the food all day, not to mention she was tired of the bickering.  
Everyone retired to their bedrooms, or the bedrooms they were sharing, apart from Hermione who spent a little while in Fred and George's bedroom.

xx

'I've got a present for you.' Hermione smiled and bit her bottom lip as she looked up at Fred with bright shining eyes.

'You didn't have to get me anything.' Fred answered back to her with a hopeless grin.

'Yes I did.' Protested Hermione. 'You got me this beautiful necklace; I had to find something to give you.' She went away to Ron's bedroom quickly and came back with a shoddily wrapped gift. 'Here. I hope you like it.' Fred took it and turned it around in his hands, he ripped the paper away from present and he found himself holding a red football shirt with 'F. Weasley' on the back along with the number '9'. Fred broke out in to a huge grin and pulled off the jumper his mother made him and replaced it with his new shirt. 'I know it's not great, but it was all I could really think of to get you.' Hermione apologised.

Fred admired himself in his mirror and hugged Hermione close to him.  
'I love it, Hermione. I love it almost as much as I love you. Thank you so much!'

Hermione pulled away from Fred and looked at him inquisitively. George sat upright on his bed with wide eyes, knowing that he was about to enjoy whatever it was that was going to happen next.  
'I'm sorry, what did you say?' she asked in disbelief. Fred looked quite confused, Hermione wasn't entirely sure if he was even aware of what he had said to her.

'I said that I loved it…' Fred repeated.

'The bit after that.' Hermione said with a nod.

'Almost as much as I love you?' He said, not being completely sure if that was the right answer.

'You love me?' Hermione asked sternly and with slight hint of disbelief and confusion. Her pulse was raised and she thought she could feel some sweat dripping down her forehead; she had to wipe it with the back of her hand just to make sure that she wasn't. Fred looked like he was thinking for a moment and George sat on the edge of the bed so he could get closer to the situation.

'You know what?' Fred said eventually. 'I think I do.' He confidently admitted with a smile. Hermione still looked quite stern but she didn't say anything. 'I bloody love you, Hermione Jean Granger. You are brilliant, and beautiful, and you always smell nice,' Hermione laughed gently. 'You make me happy, and you make me want to run outside and shout from the top of the tallest mountains that I have the best girlfriend in the world.' Fred looked like he was about to burst with happiness. Hermione honestly had no idea what to say.

George got up and dangled some mistletoe in front of them. Fred and Hermione looked at it and laughed. Hermione's gaze moved over to Fred and she kissed him gently, she put her arms around his waist and Fred did the same to Hermione. George sat back down and grinned, feeling very pleased with his work.

'Tell him you love him!' George called out. 'Tell him! Tell him! Tell him!' he chanted as he pumped his fist in the air.  
Hermione had to pull away from Fred's lips because she was laughing too hard at George. Once she had calmed down a little bit, she just smiled sweetly and put her forehead against Fred's.

'And I love you too.' She gave him a little peck on the nose and then let go of him. 'I should get off to bed. Goodnight, boys.' Hermione waved, hugged them both and left like the wind.

Fred let out a large breath and giggled happily as he closed the bedroom door behind her.  
'Well done, Freddie!' George got up and patted Fred on the back. Fred hugged George and both of them were happy. Fred was happy because Hermione had told him that she loved him, and George was happy because Fred was happy.

'To be honest,' Fred began. 'For a moment I thought she wasn't going to say it back.'


End file.
